Cruel fate befell Nathaniel Ebimaje, a senior lecturer at the Kogi State Polytechnic, as he was stabbed to death by suspected cultists.
His killing came as a result of the lingering crises between the Igala and Ebira students community in the school. The latest crisis, it was learnt, was ignited when an Ebira student ( names withheld) and an Igala student ( names also withheld) who were in the same hostel had a minor quarrel. Two days later, some people, suspected to be cultists, went into the Ebira girls’ hostel in the dead of the night and abducted her.
Sources said she was later taken to Nataco area, close to the bank of River Niger where she was to be slaughtered only for them to discovered she was about four-month old pregnant.
Sensing the grave danger of spilling the blood of the lady and her unborn baby, her abductors reluctantly released her and warned her never to quarrel with anyone on the campus again.
When the Ebira student resurfaced on campus, she reportedly narrated her ordeal to her tribal colleagues who accused the Igala girl who earlier had an altercation with her of masterminding the assassination plot. This incident reportedly generated serious tension on the campus, which later sparked off tribal war between the Ebira and Igala students.
The late, Ebimaje, described as highly disciplined, was said to have gone to make peace with the warring students when one student suddenly stabbed him in the neck when he was about leaving the riot scene.
When our correspondent visited the polytechnic, a source who did not want his name in print, said the murdered lecturer was actually deeply sympathetic with the abducted student who she interrogated to know if the lady could reveal the identity of the assailants.
Investigations revealed that the polytechnic had been on fire since the beginning of this year as no fewer than four sad incidents had occurred. The first incident happened in February when a drunken lecturer from the Department of Statistics and Mathematics, allegedly ran over a student and two other people outside the school gate while driving dangerously around the campus.
The lecturer, who has since been left off the hook by the police, was sighted recently still lecturing in the school. Also, another lecturer in the School of General Studies was allegedly beaten black and blue three weeks ago by a female student, her boyfriend and father for his hard stance during examination.
It was reported that the lecturer was invigilating some students when the female student excused him aside, only for her boyfriend and the father to descend on him, dragged him on the ground and tied his leg and arms.
It was the intervention of some students that saved the humiliated lecturer from being whisked away in a waiting vehicle, allegedly brought by his assailants. Again, our correspondent gathered that another married lady, who was eight months pregnant was kidnapped on campus recently.
Her dead body was discovered few days later at the bank of River Niger. Campus Square gathered that the management allegedly empowered a group of students under the auspices of ‘Man o War’ to maintain peace and order on campus. However, this group was accused of heightening the tension. The Rector, Prof Matthew Ajibero, told our correspondent that ‘Man O War’ was not a deadly organisation as rumoured.
He said the organisation was actually formed by the management to enhance surveillance on campus and to secure lives and property.
The Rector also denied reports that members of a secret cult killed the late lecturer. He said the crisis was rather a tribal conflict, which the school management has set up a committee to investigate.
He described the late lecturer as’ highly disciplined, reliable and honest,’ saying since assuming as the Rector six years ago, the tragic incident was the first major crisis . Ajibero said the school has been closed down indefinitely while the lecturers’ body had been moved to his village along with his family members for burial.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Romanus Nwaleri, said 25 students have so far been arrested over the death of the lecturer. He said those found culpable will be prosecuted.
source sun newspaper
