The Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area, was yesterday shut down indefinitely over violent protest by students.
Also, the students had been ordered to leave the campus immediately. The closure followed a clash between students and the institution’s security personnel.
Trouble started on Wednesday afternoon when security operatives responded to reports at the venue of an election by members of the National Association of Akwa Ibom State Students, polytechnic chapter, about a student.
As soon as the election for new leadership was on, a student (names withheld) was accosted by some security men, but during interrogation, he was not cooperating, a development that attracted the attention of the Chief Security Officer (CSO).
Sources said nobody knew the student’s offence, as he was allegedly manhandled by security men and reportedly taken away in a patrol van. There was a rumour of his death, though security operatives denied it.
But, as students started going to the venues of their examination yesterday, there was tension as the suspect had not yet returned.
Suddenly, the students gathered in large numbers, singing and demanding that they wanted to see him if he was not dead.
Efforts of the CSO to pacify them fell on deaf ears, leading to a full-blown riot.
The situation was said to have been brought under control by policemen from the Bori Area Command and some operatives of the Joint Task Force.
