NANS CONDEMNS KILLINGS IN ENUGU* .... Calls on Government to bring killer cop/military men to book and to compensate family handsomely.

 

It is with a heavy heart that we tell our nation and the world the tragic story of a vibrant young man, Mr. Ejike Okeke a computer science student of IMT who in the morning of 24th October 2020 left the confines of his home to attend to the daily demands of his sales job at Juhel filling station Nkponkiti, Enugu state, only to be hit by a stray bullet from a careless and unprofessional security agent. As we write, Ejike Okeke lies lifeless in the mortuary.

We are not unaware of the series of events that surround such trigger rascality by security agents. The #endsars protest which started as a legitimate attempt by Nigerian Youths to demand for a Nigeria with sane and humane policing tenets assumed an ugly dimension after the careless and unwarranted shooting of harmless and armless protesters at the Lekki toll gate,  Lagos resulting in the deaths of young persons. Since then, we have witnessed destructions, looting arson and even carnage resulting from an evident hijack of the struggle by hoodlums. The trending cases of palliative discovery by young persons stands as another event that has characterised this era. All of these unfortunate developments places enormous burden and demands on National and state governments to apply as much caution and wisdom as possible in order to effectively manage the uprising.

There is then no explanations that would justify the use of live bullets to disperse a crowd of youths seeking access into a palliative warehouse. We say this without failing to understand government's need  to protect the girls of queen secondary school from the rampage given the  chaos that has characterised it. We are saying that other means of crowd dispersal should have been sought.

We are hereby poised to let the state know that Ejike Okeke is not a hoodlum but a student striving to earn a living through honest means, let it be known that Ejike was not even at the riotous venue but at his workplace when a stray bullet hit him.

The Security agencies and the State government should know that Nigerian Students in Enugu state are heartbroken and disappointed and we call on the governor, His Excellency Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the Chief security officer of the state to rise up and assume responsibility to ensure that

1. The careless security agent whose bullet killed Ejike is tracked and prosecuted 

2. Even though no amount can bring back the dead, tangible pecuniary  compensations should  be availed to the family of the deceased which would include putting every sibling after him on state Scholarship. 

3.That the security agencies are duely engaged to avoid a repeat of this ugly incident. 

The National Association of Nigerian students beckons on all students especially IMT students to calm frayed nerves as the organisation will work assiduously to ensure that these demands are met. We shall immediately constitute a committee that would pay the family a condolence visit, maintain constant touch and perform other duties as may be required by events to enable them feel the love of Enugu state students. NANS sends her sympathy to the family of the deceased and to the IMT SUG, this loss is our loss and we shall stand by each other.

Comrade Darlington Ugwuegbe.

Deputy Coordinator NANS Zone B.