Men of the Nigeria Police force have unleashed teargas on protesting students of the College of Education Ilorin, Kwara State. The Police used teargas to disperse the students who were protesting the fact that their lecturers were being owed salaries.
The students claim that the situation has disrupted academic activities in the institution and denied them the opportunity of kicking off examinations to conclude the semester.
The students reported that they had gone to their respective classes to commence their examinations only for them to be greeted by empty classes. On further enquiries the students discovered that their lecturers had boycotted classes due to unpaid salaries.
Read: Tragedy as Hippos Kill Local Fisherman, Tourist in Kenya While Taking Pictures
This situation galvanised the students who promptly forced open the main gate of the institution and started a protest towards the Government House Grounds in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The protest was, however, cut short along unity road several meters away from the government house grounds as men of the Nigeria Police force unleashed several canisters of teargas on the protesting students as well as passersby who had to scamper for safety.
Reacting to the situation, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ayaji Okasanmi, disclosed that the students were dispersed because they became uncontrollable and had gone ahead to damage several properties.
“They are fighting for their teachers, as far as we are concerned, the teachers are capable of fighting for themselves. This morning, the students came out, not only that; they started disturbing and destroying properties of innocent persons. They became uncontrollable.
“When we discovered they had damaged so many vehicles, we had to forcefully disperse them. We also didn’t want hoodlums to hijack the protest,” said the Police PRO.
Education in Nigeria is in a dire state as public schools regularly go on strike due to the fact that the schools are always inadequately funded. The lecturers and teachers are often owed salaries and allowances and working equipment is virtually non-existent.
Only Private schools in the country can boast of a certain standard and parents who cannot afford to send their children abroad often send their kids to the private schools.