IN the aftermath of the mindless killing of the four students of the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) by people alleged to be from Omukiri-Aluu in Ikwere Council of Rivers State, coupled with the death last week of a former corps members who just passed out of the scheme, palpable fear and insecurity now reign among students and staff of the institution, who no longer feel safe in the university neigbourhood.
Kelechi Ugonna, Lloyd Toku, Chidiaka Biringa and Tekena Erikena, popularly referred to as Aluu 4, were on October 5, this year slaughtered and burnt to death with tires hung on their neck by Aluu villagers on the suspicious of being thieves.
The barbaric killing, which was filmed and posted on the Internet went viral, eliciting reaction from across the world and infuriating other students of the institution, who protested and set over 30 cars ablaze and destroyed properties worth millions of naira in now deserted community.
The situation inflamed an already tensed situation in the area, thereby forcing the university authority to close the school indefinitely and ordered the students and staff to vacate the premises, stressing that the school would remain closed until the management was convinced that a very peaceful atmosphere for learning had returned.
Two weeks later, three persons were also confirmed killed at Rumuchakara community in Choba, one of the host communities of the university.
The Guardian gathered that a corps member, who had just passed out the previous day, Thursday, October 18, drove out with an undergraduate friend in Uniport, in companied of another mutual friend, to celebrate his successful completion of the exercise.
But he was said to have ram into a roadside shop at Rumuchakara on his way back, leading to an argument with the shop owner, who insisted on being compensated for the damages.
It was learnt that as the argument lingered, some group of boys came and shot at them and drove off, resulting in the death of three persons, just as the shop-owner ran away.
These developments, have crippled business activities in the university neigbourhood, an area that otherwise enjoyed high patronage by students.
Some students, in an interview with The Guardian, expressed fear of returning to the university community.
Adeline Woke, A 300-level student, said: “My parents are really afraid of my return to school; they have lost confidence on the security of students. Even myself, I am equally afraid.”
A staff of the institution, who pleaded anonymity, urged the school authority and security agencies to beef up security within the university communities to allay the fears of the staff and students living there.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Joseph Ajienka, regretted that the outcome of the tense situation in the neigbourhood led to the attack on innocent people living on the road to Aluu clan.
He disclosed that the mob threatened the lives of lecturers and non-teaching staff, as well as the already traumatised students residing in Aluu; hence the decision to close the institution indefinitely.
He said many staff and students no longer feel safe in the university neigbourhood, noting, however, that the university was putting measures in place to improve the relationship between the students and the host communities.
He said: “If you go to the community, they are as grieved as the university. But from our interactions with the community leaders, they have shown commitment to ensure that students and staff of the universities are protected henceforth.”
Ajienka lamented that over 70 per cent of the students live outside the campus and applauded Federal Government’s promise to improve the school system to accommodate about 50 per cent of the students in hostels, even though he said that would still not be enough.
The vice chancellor called for the speedy investigation and prosecution of the killers of the four students, insisting that only timely justice would assuage the bereaved families and the public that watched their gory lynching on charges yet to be subjected to proper legal scrutiny.
Renowned poet, Elechi Amadi, who hails from Aluu, said it was wrong to described Aluu as a ghost area.
He told The Guardian that Aluu clan has nine communities and it is only one of them, Omukiri, where the killing took place, that people have fled for fear of being arrested, and not all the Aluu clans.
Amadi maintained that normal life has been on in the other communities and everyone going about his/her business peacefully.
He stressed: “Yes, the killing is a terrible thing that should not have occurred, because in my town, if you kill somebody accidentally, you will be ex-communicated until you perform all the necessary rituals, not to talk of when you kill deliberately.
“I feel quite innocent, no matter the impression people are having about Aluu people. If you watch the video, you will know that there are no Aluu faces there.
“I am sure with time, the false image about Aluu will be cleared. The community where the incident occurred was sold out to strangers, who built houses and gave them out to students.”
Amadi condemned the killing, saying the act does no good to the society, economy, deceased and even the perpetrators.
Chief Medical Director of Oasis Specialist Hospital, Dr. Josiah Appolous, said the incident would perpetually affect the psyche of the students and staff living within the community.
“People won’t feel secure again staying in that area. The school has large expanse of land; it can enter into a partnership agreement with estate developers to build, operate and transfer hostels, where the developers will build and manage it for some time before handing over to the institution.”
Appolous, formerly with University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and an alumnus of the institution, argued that the strategy would go a long way to ameliorate the accommodation problem facing the school and also ensure security of the students and staff.
Meanwhile, the killing has left scars in the hearts of the grieving parents of the deceased, who are yet to fully come to terms with the sudden death of their children.
Mr. Mike Toku, father of Lloyd, in an interview with The Guardian, said the heartbreaking incident is causing sleepless nights for him and his wife.
He stated: “We have not been able to sleep since the sad incident took place, especially my wife. Any time she closes her eyes, she sees her son being burnt, slaughtered and brutalised.
“It is really difficult to cope with the situation, but we pray and believe that God will give us the inner strength to overcome this eternal pain.”
He decried the ominous silence of President Goodluck Jonathan over the incident, saying the families had expected him to personally comment on the matter, rather than through his aides.
“We have been expecting the President to say something on this incident, especially as an alumnus of the university, who have bagged three degrees from the institution.
“Speaking through his aides is not enough and that cannot ease our pains,” Toku stated.
For the father of Kelechi, Mr. Messiah Biringa, he has left the killers of his son to God’s judgment.
Biringa, who could not describe the enormity of pains and traumas he has been going through, simply told The Guardian that life has not been easy with him since the incident.
“It has not been easy, but judgment is waiting for the people who killed my only son, like an animal. I pray that whosoever did this will not have peace in life.”
Similarly, parents of Tekena have been wondering about the health implications the irreparable loss may cause them in the long run.
Mr. Friday Elkanah told The Guardian that they have just been managing to put themselves together, noting that the incident has happened and they are only praying to God to give them the heart to bear the pains.
For the parents of Chidiaka, the gory pictures of the lynching of their son keep appearing to them, thereby making it difficult to overcome the situation.
He, however, prayed God to give them the grace to manage the situation.
Elkanah called on the federal government and the Judiciary to give the trial of the killers accelerated hearing to ensure that justice is not delayed or denied.
Counsel to the bereaved families, Mr. Peter Ndukwe, also expressed worry over the silence of the President over the sad incident that occurred in his former school.
He said he has lost confidence in the Nigeria Police and called for a special judicial panel of inquiry to ascertain the remote cause of the incident and the failure of the police to rescue the victims.
Thirteen suspected killers of the Aluu 4 are currently facing trial before a Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt.
At the last hearing, the Presiding Magistrate, Mr. Emmanuel Woke, ordered that the suspects be remanded in prison custody till December 20, this year, when the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) would determine whether the court is competent to handle the matter or referred it to the High Court.
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