NANS sheds light on clash between soldiers, UNIBEN students

Following the clash that broke out between Univeristy of Benin students and some personnel of the Nigerian Army over alleged use of ATMs, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Saturday offered its account of the incident.

NANS in a statement signed by its Vice President, Inter-Campus Affairs, Vanessa Egbeahie, and made available to newsmen, described UNIBEN students as peaceful.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the clash followed a verbal altercation between some students and personnel of the army at the ATM spot on campus on Thursday.

Clarifying the incident, Egbeahie dismissed what he said were cooked-up narrative making the rounds on the social media.

She said: “The situation was not in any way the act of UNIBEN students! Please note that the students of the University of Benin are well known for their high moral standards and zero tolerance for violence and are not in any way violent or rebellious.”

“In correction of the cooked-up stories going around the Internet, I do hereby write to give some clarity to what actually transpired.

READ ALSO:NAIRA SCARCITY: UNIBEN students clash with soldiers over use of ATM (VIDEO)

“Soldiers came into the premises of the University of Benin and assaulted students by beating and chasing them out of the long ATM queues. As I earlier stated, our students are very respectful persons and they didn’t object to them nor denied them access in any way, as they allowed the said soldiers to have their way, only to be assaulted, punished and beaten in return as they were falsely accused of recording them.

“All manner of ill-treatment was executed on the school premises by the same soldiers that should be safeguarding and protecting the citizens of this great country.

“We are happy that peace and calmness have been restored to the campus”, she added.

The recent CBN naira redesign policy had created heated tension among the Nigerian populace, especially in light of the shortage of new notes across commercial banks in the country.

In response to the volatile situation, President Muhammadu Buhari had assured Nigerians of decisive intervention within seven days.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now