Students to Ogun CP: Your officers harass, victimize us
Students’ leaders in Ogun State have met with the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson, to express their grievances over alleged harassment, victimization and oppression of students by policemen in the state. The leaders, from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) and the National Association of Polytechnic Students […]
Students’ leaders in Ogun State have met with the Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimson, to express their grievances over alleged harassment, victimization and oppression of students by policemen in the state.
The leaders, from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) and the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), among others, met with Ebrimson in his office on Friday at the Command’s headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta.
The meeting was facilitated by the state government through the office of the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Students Affairs, Comrade Azeez Adeyemi.
The students alleged unlawful arrest, harassment and intimidation, stressing that many of them had lost confidence in the ability of the police to protect them.
They also accused the police of constant victimisation, oppression and violation of their fundamental human rights, saying many of them had been arrested by policemen on trumped-up accusation of being internet fraudsters.
Adeyemi remarked that the meeting was held on the directive of Governor Abiodun and appealed to Ebrimson to curtail the “excesses” of his men in the state and regard students as partners in progress and agents of peace instead of perceiving them as enemies.
The Special Adviser pledged that the student community would continue to support and cooperate with the police in their efforts to rid the state of crime.
Responding, Ebrimson denied the allegations against his men, saying “some people have just made up their minds to give the police a bad name and hang it.”
The Commissioner attributed the cause of major violent crimes in the society to cultism, insisting that the greatest security challenge confronting the state is cultism.
“I want to unequivocally dissociate myself from whoever says there is bad relationship between the police and the students. We (police) are here to protect each and everyone of you (students). We are here to make sure that you carry out your studies without any hindrance. We want to give you space, an environment that is very conducive for you to learn, graduate and leave.
“I want all of us to be on the same page. We (police) are very open. I need your assistance, I need your cooperation, particularly in the area of fighting cultism.
“Cultism is the greatest challenge we have in this state, not armed robbery, not kidnapping and it thrives in tertiary institutions. What are your (students) leaders doing about this? What awareness are you carrying out to curb this?
“You know the resultant effects of cultism. When two cult groups clash, innocent people are affected. So please, I need your cooperation and I think from time to time we will be having this type of platform to enable us vent our grievances,” he said.