EXCLUSIVE REPORT: How Professor Charles Dokubo, Hired Ijaw Militants To Unleash Mayhem And Terror On Protesting Niger Delta Students nAt National Assembly, Abuja.
Preamble
Premised upon the general outcry of injustice, oppression, favouritism, nepotism, sectionalism, vindictiveness on his predicessor, and the selective and discriminatory payment of the statutory monthly stipends of students that has characterized the lopsided and ineffective management of the Amnesty programme since Professor Charles Quaker Dokubo, assumed office around March this year, the students who the Professor has subjected to all forms of emotional, physcological and economic torture that has made a
majority of them to loss concentration on their acedemics and many others frustrated out of the programme across Nigerian universities who are the beneficiaries of the 2017/2018 amnesty schorlarship, decided to take the fight for National inclusion, equal educational opportunities and a better life to the gate of their oppressor in Abuja and to the hallow chambers of the National Assembly where those who represents them usually gather to pass the budgets of the Presidential amnesty programme since it’s inception in 2009, under late President Umaru Musa Yaradua. This time around, the students who the Professor and his cohorts have been denying them of their rights to freedom from institutionalized discrimination, came together under one umbrella, named “Coalition of Concerned Niger Delta Amnesty Students 2017/2018”The trip to Abuja was to among other things to do the following.
1. Draw the attention of the Special Adviser to the inherent problems that the amnesty programme will experience both in the short and long run should he continue to create a distinction between the various students from the Niger Delta region who hitherto now has been treated equally in the programme the moment they get in. The trip was to make the coordinator realize that the selective and discriminatory payment of the statutory monthly stipends on the basis of UN code/Non UN code, names on Database /No names on Database, cleared/uncleared students, sectionalism, favouritism, nepotism and ethnicity, will amount to the total collapse of the programme as those who have been paid their stipends of five hundred and thirty thousand naira (#530,000:00) each cannot be expected to perform and produce the same acedemic results like those who have been denied their stipends under the same learning environment. The trip was also to plead with the Special Adviser on the need of paying all the students stipends without any criteria of discrimination as he did by paying all the students school fees and accommodation fees without resorting to the excuse of names been on the amnesty office database or not. UN code or not. Cleared or uncleared list. Etc. It was purely a mission for an appeal for inclusion from a man who the students saw as a father that ordinarily ought to treat all his children fairly without bias for peace, unity and succes of the programme to be attained throughout the universities.
2. The trip was to also draw the attention of the members of the National Assembly to the bad situation and mismanagement of the programme since Professor Charles Dokubo came on board should he fail to listen to the genuine appeal of the students. The students were very conscious of the fact that the right to a peaceful gathering and association and freedom of expression are all constitutionally quaranteed fundamental rights of citizens within the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, the highest law of the land. They also choose to stage the protest right in the National Assembly because, their politically elected representatives were there and as such can help them take up the issues since they are the ones who usually pass the budgets of the amnesty office and other arms/angencies of government.
3. As a last option, the Coalition of Concerned Niger Delta Students 2017/2018 set as a last resort should all dialogue collapse, intended to seek judicial interpretations of the discriminatory payment of the statutory monthly stipends by professor Charles Dokubo while paying the school fees and accommodation fees of all the students without giving excuses on finding or not finding their names on database or not. Having UN code or not. Cleared or uncleared. Having their admission letters signed by him or not etc.
Day one: 17th December 2018.
Students arrived the Federal Capital City, FCT, Abuja in droves from different schools. Those who Professor Dokubo has tortured pyyscologically and emotionally had resolved through the “Coalition of Concerned Niger Delta Amnesty Students 2017/2018 to take their destinies in their hands and despite the Hunger and hardships they have been subjected to since their deployment to the various schools in February /March 2018 had promised to go and seek justice in Abuja. These students yielded to the call for justice on behalf of the rest affected students. It is pertinent to reiterate it here that while some individuals from certain schools paid their own personal transport to Abuja without a kobo from the other students deprived of their stipends, other got to Abuja after scratching and scrapping themselves to hire buses for the journey. Arrangements for hotels and feeding was also either a personal thing or a collective thing from the little the students could gather. Worthy of mention is the fact majority of those students who were paid by Professor Dokubo, disappeared from school without contributing a dime to help their fellow students who together with them were been maltreated by the professor before paying them. There were different schools who could not make the journey due to one reason or the other but those who galvanized the process were conscious of the fact that in such struggle, there are those who will always champion such trips. Delegates settled down in Abuja to brainstorm on steps to take.
Day 2: 18th December, 2018
The Coalition went to meet renowned human right lawyer Barrister Kayode Ajulo in his office to seek legal advice. Barrister Kayode Ajulo has been the one assisting these sets of students in demanding for equity and fairness through the writing of series of petitions to the Amnesty office on the need to do the right thing by treating all the students with equity and fairness. He has on several occasions done all these without collecting a penny from the students. After talking with the students and putting calls to so many personalities in the across the presidency on the need to handle the issue in such a manner that mischief makers will not take advantage of it to use the aggrieved students to cause trouble for government in the restive Niger Delta region, as the nation prepares for a general election in 2019, he finally put a call to the Amnesty office and the personal assistant to Professor Charles Dokubo requested for a meeting with the lawyer and two representatives of the students in the Amnesty office at number 37A Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja.
Outcome of the meeting between Barrister Ajulo, Amnesty office represented by Mr Murphy Ganagana , head of education onshore and two others for aggrieved students.
After briefing the amnesty office representatives about the thorny issues and the anger of the deprived students surrounding the decision of Professor Dokubo not to pay some students their stipends while paying others, and what it means to the educational dreams of those denied, the students representatives asked the amnesty office to immediately rescind the discriminatory policy that can further plunge the amnesty programme and the Niger Delta region into crisis. The students representatives posited that Professor Dokubo cannot claim not to know the students or have their information on the amnesty database and yet was able to find money to pay their school fees and accommodation fees running into hundreds of millions of naira without insisting on finding their names first on database, with UN code or not, cleared or uncleared. The students then appealed to the Professor to also apply the same policy in the payment of the stipends since all the students are under the same programme. They warned of the dangers that may arise if those students who are already frustrated and subjected to the angonizing and truamatizing situations in their schools are left to go back to the creeks in anger and hopelessness after getting to 200 and 300 level in their various courses.
Responding, Mr Murphy Ganagana insisted that there was an educational policy on ground that the SA must sign the admission letters of all amnesty students before they are deployed to schools. He accused the previous administration of sending students to schools through text messages instead of the letter. He went further to say that the budget of the amnesty office is already over stretched and so therefore, the ONLY SOLUTION was for the affected students to go back home to meet with their traditional rulers, senators, house of representatives members and other stakeholders to see how they can talk to lawmakers and the presidency to increase the amnesty office budget. He noted that since the other students names are not in the database, there is nothing that can be done.
Barrister Kayode Ajulo after informing the office on the need to settle the issue amicably to give the students a sense of belonging and to use the programme to sustain the vision of the Federal government in the Niger Delta region, towards peace, security and development, urged the amnesty office to do everything humanly possible to save the situation from taking a dangerous turn. He also questioned Mr Ganagana on the wisdom of paying all the students tuition fees and accommodation fees without paying all of them their stipends. Mr Ganagana responded by saying that because the SA was a "good father ” he decided to pay the tuition and accommodation fees of all the students instead of “throwing them out of the programme”
All the appeal by the students to reconsider the discriminatory payment of the statutory monthly stipends so that all the students will be able to continue to seek their dreams with the right support was turned down. The meeting was possible because Barrister Ajulo facilitated it as the amnesty office officials had barricaded the whole roads leasing to the office with heavily armed security personnel on getting wind of the decision of the agrieved students to visit their office. The insistance of the amnesty office that except the affected students go and talk to their traditional rulers, senators and house of representatives members there would be no solution, was a news that the students cannot bring home knowing fully well that it was not their responsibilities to do so but that of the man receiving salary as SA to the President, Professor Charles Dokubo.
On getting back to the hotel rooms, it was clear that the students must mobilize to the National Assembly to draw the attention of the lawmakers and Nigerians to the ugly situations they were facing in the hands of the Professor. The students also felt that since the amnesty office has asked the students to go and seek a political solution to their delima, the National Assembly was a right place to do so.
On getting back to the hotel rooms, it was clear that the students must mobilize to the National Assembly to draw the attention of the lawmakers and Nigerians to the ugly situations they were facing in the hands of the Professor. The students also felt that since the amnesty office has asked the students to go and seek a political solution to their delima, the National Assembly was a right place to do so.
Day 3: 19th December, 2018.
As early as 5am in the morning the Coalition members has taken a close position towards the gate of the National Assembly. Interestingly, security was visibly beefed up as President Muhhamadu Buhari was billed to address the National Assembly by presenting them with the estimates of the 2019 budget.
The students who gained entrance to the main gate were not MOLESTED nor HARRASSED by the various security personnel who were stationed strategically around all the entrance and exits of the Assembly. Rather they informed the protesting students that the assembly staff were on strike but were willing to cooperate with aggrieved students to see how they can get their messages across to the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives. This was rather unusual from the security personnel and it was a very clear paradigm shift from what Nigerians expected under such situations especially with the president visiting. They were very supportive.
Four copies of the petition demanding that the National Assembly should investigate the activities of professor Dokubo and his sacking, was tendered. Journalists from different television, radio and newspaper organizations took copies of the petition and interviews were granted by the leadership of the Coalition to bring the country attention to the suffering of the students whose dreams and career were on the line of fire as a result of the divisive and discriminatory management of the amnesty programme under Dokubo. These interviews were conducted free of charge by the jounalists present.
Amnesty office Peace Building Committee arrived protest ground by 10:15am.
The news of protesting students demanding for justice and fairness on the payment of the stipends got to the amnesty office officials like a wide fire in an hammattan season. Jolted by this surprise protest and knowing fully well that the lawmakers and president Buhari and indeed the world attention would be focused on the National Assembly due to the high wired intrigues and politics that has been playing out towards 2019 general election, the peace builder committee was on top of their games once again to deceive and sweet talk the protesting students to leave the Assembly gate and proceed to the amnesty office for discussion. The students insisted that they will not vacate the place but can only send some respresentatives. The plot to also divide the students along ethnic lines was also futile. Sensing that the guard of honor from the presidency was coming into the premises and time was not on their side, the amnesty office Peace Building committee stylishly withdrew.
Ijaw militants invasion of protest ground.
When the peace buiding committee withdrew, with one Major Lelekumo, one or two boys dressed like some of the protesting students started engaging in one argument or the other that was making tempers to rise. Unknowing to the protesting students, these guys were spies sent ahead to the venue to size up the strength of the protesting students. Before the students could know what was happening, a fresh thugs of Ijaw militants has invaded the protest ground tearing the placards and asking the protesters “who told to come here to protest” pandamonium was let lossed as the aggrieved students put up a resistance.. The Ijaw students were roughly manhandled by the militants who beat them up and kicked them up and down. There was confusion everywhere as some were wounded badly. Some ran for cover when it became apparent that the thugs outnumbered the students. Security personnel and Nigerians present watched in astonishment as Ijaw youths, Itsekiri, youths, Ilaje youths, Ndokwa youths, Urohbo youths, Calabar Youths, Ikwere youths, Isoko youths, Ilaje youths etc were been beating by their own brothers from Niger Delta in front of cameras for choosing the legitimate way to express their displeasure over the unjust treatment by the Professor who also was from Niger Delta. Blood was flowing everywhere. It was shocking seeing the same Ijaw militants who from time to time block the East-West road in protest against similar marginalization brutalizing their own people who were only expressing their constitutional rights. It was such a shame to discover that those Ijaw militants could descend so low because of money given to them by Dokubo to act in such a disgraceful manner instead of joining their voices in asking for justice and fairness on behalf of their people. It must be stated that when the peace building commitee members saw that the thugs they had invited to unleash mayhem on the students had gotten the upper hand, they got into their vehicles and zoomed off from the Assembly complex after talking with the militants. Some of them also refused to participate in the discussion with the aggrieved students in their office claiming the protesters snubbed them when they came initially to pacify them. Ironically the peace building committee failed to realize that once bitten twice shy. This will not be the first time the peace building committee will be playing this kind of game with the students.
The specific attack on comrade Arubi Ajofotan Oporukun.
When the militants invaded the venue, they were surprised by the resistance put up by some of the students depite their numbers. They noticed the fearlessness of the young man called Arubi Ajofotan. When they now asked him about his identity, he said, “I am an Itsekiri man and I won’t Deny my tribe but today am here not to fight for myself and tribe alone but for all Ijaw, Urohbo, Itsekiri, Calabar, and all the other students that this discrimination is affecting and will make many of them to return to crime” On hearing this, it was a like an evil spirit possessed the Ijaw militants who became more enraged. They kicked, butted, tore and continue to manhandle him. The scene was too horrifying as some of his fellow comrades rushed in to save the situation. He remains the hero of that events because even when people were asked to go to the amnesty office, while some stayed behind for security reasons and to strategize, he repeated the same statement in the presence of his attackers at the amnesty office.
Resolution at the amnesty office before departing.
It was resolved that a fresh letter be drafted to the SA Professor Dokubo to act in the best interest of the entire region and students future by giving all the students a sense of belonging by paying them their stipends. The danger and consequences of not doing so as it relates to the progress of the programme and the public image of the amnesty office was also highlited. The letter just like the ones sent to the National Assembly were duely delivered and acknowledged by all the various group to the meeting.
Rumors on certain people writing their names in amnesty office in Abuja to the exclusion of others.
It is totally false and must be disregarded as the handiwork of mischief makers to cause unnecessary rancour among the students. It is interesting to note that the whole purpose of paying some students and depriving others was an attempt to cause division among the students. It is an incontrovertible fact that amnesty students has somehow been treated as a different set of students by their self sponsored students. Professor Dokubo has succeeded in creating another division among the students by further segregating them into paid and unpaid students. It is therefore expected that those affected students will stop chasing shadows and focus their energies towards getting justice and fairness from the hands of their oppressors at the amnesty office through proactive discussions and unity of purpose.
Conclusion
The deprived students should understand that the oppressor of the Israelites did not just let them go out of Egypt. It took prayers, commitment and strong leadership with strong character in the person of Moses to take them from bondage. Haven’t said that, the students should prepare for the struggle to liberate themselves and their future from the current policy that is aimed at crippling their dreams and ambushing them on the road to the promise land. As they all look forward to a positive reply to their requests and petitions to be treated equally and justly by Professor Charles Dokubo by paying their stipends which will assist them in their educational pursuits to better their lives and Nation, they should make up their minds to be ready to keep fighting for their rights until victory is achieved even though it means going to Abuja countless times to confront the shameless Ijaw thugs who Professor Dokubo has paid their students stipends and given money to unleash mayhem and terror on their own people shamefully in Abuja. While the the students have put up a very good fight and brought the issues to the front burner of National consciousness, which has made the issue to go viral, the students should explore all reasonable avenues to take the problem to all who are capable of intervening on their behalf. All action calculated to bring division within the fold of the aggrieved students should be ignored so that together they can find a lasting solution to this unacceptable plan that makes a selected few happy and the majority sad and depressed. As the clock ticks towards the end of this year, newer and better strategies should be devised by the affected students so that they can put forward a stronger united front that will crush all oppositions to their demand for justice and fairness from the hands of Dokubo. Nothing less than this spirit of oneness is expected of the oppressed students
The deprived students should understand that the oppressor of the Israelites did not just let them go out of Egypt. It took prayers, commitment and strong leadership with strong character in the person of Moses to take them from bondage. Haven’t said that, the students should prepare for the struggle to liberate themselves and their future from the current policy that is aimed at crippling their dreams and ambushing them on the road to the promise land. As they all look forward to a positive reply to their requests and petitions to be treated equally and justly by Professor Charles Dokubo by paying their stipends which will assist them in their educational pursuits to better their lives and Nation, they should make up their minds to be ready to keep fighting for their rights until victory is achieved even though it means going to Abuja countless times to confront the shameless Ijaw thugs who Professor Dokubo has paid their students stipends and given money to unleash mayhem and terror on their own people shamefully in Abuja. While the the students have put up a very good fight and brought the issues to the front burner of National consciousness, which has made the issue to go viral, the students should explore all reasonable avenues to take the problem to all who are capable of intervening on their behalf. All action calculated to bring division within the fold of the aggrieved students should be ignored so that together they can find a lasting solution to this unacceptable plan that makes a selected few happy and the majority sad and depressed. As the clock ticks towards the end of this year, newer and better strategies should be devised by the affected students so that they can put forward a stronger united front that will crush all oppositions to their demand for justice and fairness from the hands of Dokubo. Nothing less than this spirit of oneness is expected of the oppressed students
The struggle continues.
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