Parents of students of Madonna University, Okija, Anambra
State have threatened to withdraw their children from the institution
following detention of six students of the institution and a lecturer.
The media last week was awash of reports of school’s
management detention of six students and a lecturer at the Awka prison
since February.
The detainees were accused of expressing opinion on Facebook the institution considered damaging.
The media reports, the Nation gathered had generated public
outcry including threats by some parents who thronged the university to
withdraw their wards.
Speaking with the Nation, one of the parents, Christopher
Onyejekwe, whose son was among the detainees, said he had visited the
founder of the University, Rev Fr Emmanuel Edeh over ten times to beg
for his son’s the release.
He however regretted that such appeals had fell on deaf ears.
He said, “Fr Ede arrested my son since February 19 till date, saying that he will not release them until they die in prison.
“I have approached Fr. Edeh to appeal to him. When the
police arrested students, I went to Fr. Edeh 11 times and met him. On
the 11th time, the only condition he gave me was to go and pray, which I
did.
“After a while, I went to him with three prominent persons,
knelt before him to beg him, but he said over his dead body that the
children must surely die in prison.
“He added that if I like I should bring the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to come and beg him.
“That was how I stopped going to beg him. They continued to
detain them in police custody for more than a month before they were
taken to Awka Prison.”
Another parent who spoke in confidence, said the period of
begging for the students’ release had gone, adding that the only option
was to withdraw the child from the school.
She said, “There is tension in that school now. A
management staff of the school reportedly slumped on Thursday, following
mass request by parents and guardians to withdraw their children and
wards from the school.
“Public opinion is against them and they will have no other
option than to free those children and their lecturer because they did
not commit any offence.
“We won’t beg anybody any more. We are ready to fight it out.”
The Vice President, national affairs of National
Association Nigerian Students, Chidi Ilogebe disclosed that plans had
been concluded to fulfill its threat of shutting down the university if
the detained students and their lecturer were not released immediately.
He said, “There are so many developments on the matter.
First, we want to perfect the bail conditions given to our detained
members on or before Tuesday.
“The IPO had declined to recognised the sureties earlier
produced by relations of the detained students, apparently acting on
instruction from above.
“So, we are re-strategising to produce other sureties on or before Tuesday to ensure that our members are released.
“Certain people are of the opinion that our members will
only be released on the next adjourning date which is July 2, but we are
saying no to that because they were granted bail by the court since
February.
” So, we shall perfect the bail conditions latest on
Tuesday. If they fail to release our members that day, we will shutdown
Madonna university as we stated in our seven-day ultimatum. No two ways
about it”, the NANS leader stated.
The matter which was due for hearing at the Federal High
Court, Awka on Tuesday could not hold due to the absence of the
presiding judge, Justice Babatunde Quadri.
According to an 11-count charge preferred against the
defendants, the prosecutor, Mr A.N. Obo, said the publications on the
social media were injurious to the image of the proprietor and the
institution.
He said the alleged offences were punishable under sections
27 (1) (b) and 24 (1) (b) of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention,
etc) Act, 2015
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