Row over shooting of UNIBEN student

Security of lives and properties is one of the responsibilities of government. However, the alleged shooting of Juliana Martins, a 400-Level Mass Communication student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) during a protest at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) has led to growing concerns about public safety, reports IFUNANYA OSAKWE.

The life of an individual cannot be given by a fellow human being and so should not be taken. This is why it is imperative for security personnel to be properly trained, screened and oriented to avoid the misuse of their weapons.

However, the alleged assault on protesting students at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) for demanding their start-up packs after a workshop programme, led to the shooting of one Juliana Martins of Mass Communication Department in her leg.

How it all began

According to some members of Niger Delta Students Association of UNIBEN, they went to protest at the NPDC for being denied their start-up packs after a workshop organised by the company.

NPDC is a subsidiary of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NPDC) that is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production in the hydrocarbon-rich regions of coastal Nigeria, onshore and offshore; and more recently, around Equatorial Guinea.

According to the protesting students, NPDC did not provide logistics for those who were invited to the event. The workshop was organised to enlighten the students on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

At the end of the programme, students were supposed to go home with a laptop each. But, unfortunately, NPDC was alleged to have bought empty laptop bags as souvenirs.

CAMPUS LIFE gathered that there was a meeting earlier convened by NPDC management and the student representatives to resolve the issue, but it was not fruitful.

The Students Union Government (SUG) President, Osazee Foster, said after making their findings, they found that Martins attended the workshop which was organised by NPDC, Benin City.

Further findings by the SUG showed that NPDC, an offshoot of NNPC, had earlier promised the participants that the company will take care of their accommodation, feeding and other expenses, including laptops and stipend.

He said: “When the company didn’t fulfil its promises, the participants felt betrayed and had to stage a peaceful protest at the gate of the company.

Protest turned awry

Foster continued: “It was during this protest that a group of policemen came to the scene to engage the protesters. They threatened to shoot the students if the protest continued, after which a trigger-happy policeman started shooting sporadically, which eventually led to Juliana Martins being hit by a bullet.

“She was rushed to the closest hospital where she was stabilised and then transferred to another for proper treatment.”

One of the protesting students, who gave his name as Japhet Chikwe, said: “We are, however, thankful that it was her leg the bullet hit and not any other life-threatening part of her body.”

Police deny shooting

The Public Relations Officer (PRO), Edo State Police Command, Bello Kontong, said Martins’ injury was checked by his team and it it was not a bullet wound.

He further claimed that the persons who protested were said to be impostors and not Niger Delta students.

The PRO also said investigation by his team showed that Martins is not from Southsouth, but from Southeast and so should not have been among protesting Niger Deltan students.

“However, we are still investigating the case and proper action will be taken once we are done,” he said.

The students insisted that Martins was shot, and that NPDC should pay the medical bills.

The President, Mass Communication Students Association, Adakpo Mark, said the major displeasure of the students was the claim by the Police Command that Martins’ injury was not from a gunshot.

He said: “The first hospital where she was taken to, a military hospital, confirmed that Martins was, indeed, shot and that her injury was as a result of a bullet.

“This is a tactics by NPDC to divert attention from the main matter on ground.

(Adopted from The Nation)