Niger Delta University Shuts Down After Students' Protest

 

On Tuesday, Niger Delta University, NDU, located on Wilberforce Island, Amassoma in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State shut down following a violent protest by students.  The students were demonstrating against series rules regarding the pass mark required for them to graduate from the institution. 

The aggrieved students, who hailed from the Faculty of Engineering, felt threatened by the new set of rules, hence, their unrest, of which they demand that the new rules be reviewed and changed.  

Almost all car traffic going in and out of NDU was obstructed by the student protesters.  Several members of the local community were seen watching the demonstration unfold from a distant.

The Vice Chancellor of NDU Professor Humphrey Ogoni issued a circular letter to the student body in response to the developments on campus. The letter requested that the students immediately take a mid-semester break, in order to avoid any breakdown of the rule of law on campus.

The VC ordered the student protesters to vacate the campus no later than 3 P.M. on Tuesday. He added that they would be informed when they could resume for their studies.

With respect to the students' grievances, the VC stated that he had already sent a memo to faculty encouraging them to review the new rules which were created by the Nigerian University Commission (NUC).

Professor Ogoni also noted his belief that once the review was conducted tranquility would return to the campus.  He urged the students to remain calm while the university examined their grievances.