Authorities of the University of Abuja have agreed to transfer its protesting medical students to other institutions as demanded by them.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. James Adelabu, who made this known after the school’s Senate meeting, however, said the final approval was with the National Universities Commission.
The institution had earlier transferred its Engineering students to the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, following the withdrawal of the accreditation by the NUC.
The medical students, whose college had been granted temporary accreditation by the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, for the second day running disrupted the first semester examination of the Distance Learning Institute’s students at the permanent site.
When our correspondent visited the campus on Tuesday, policemen were seen at the entrance of the main campus. But peace had returned to the mini-campus of the institution at Gwagwalada as lecturers were seen teaching the students.
The VC, who told journalists that the varsity was working hard to meet the verification team of the MDCN, alleged that some unknown members of staff were inciting the students to cause problems.
He said the students, who he had always referred to as his children, refused to attend a peace meeting he called.
He said, “I invited them for a meeting, they refused to come. Five security men were wounded by the students; one has been referred to an eye specialist hospital in Kaduna while one was hit with a iron in the back.
“A committee was set up and chaired by the deputy vice-chancellor (academics), deans of faculties, the registrar and a few eminent professors. The Committee invited them to a meeting but they were adamant, insisting that the schools must be closed down. With the progress made to meet the accreditation verification, which is known to the students, why would they ask that the school be closed down? They are insincere. The whole medical students are not more than 120.”
The students are demanding N10m each as compensation, transfer to other universities and closure of UNIABUJA.
But Adelabu said these demands were frivolous, adding that he inherited the problems from his predecessor.
Independent findings also revealed that regular students of the institution had resisted the medical students’ attempt to disrupt the examination, hence their (medical students) resolve to visit their anger on the Distance Learning Students who are undergoing part-time programmes.
The VC, who said he did not want any bloodshed, appealed to them to give peace a chance and not to take laws into their hands.
He said he was open to dialogue with the students as had been his practice.
Adelabu added that an interview for short-listed candidates for staff recruitment had been fixed for next week, while new laboratories and complexes had been built to meet verification standard by NMDC.
