Kwara Varsity Students Attack Police Station, Injure Officer Over EFCC Raid
Afimag.com –
The Kwara State Police Command said some angry students of Kwara State University, KWASU, Malete, on February 22, 2024, attacked its divisional office in Malete, in Moro local government area of the state.
The command also said one of its officers was lacerated as a mosque inside the station was destroyed by the protesting students who hauled stones at the police station.
Recall that some students, recently, protested violently and attacked the police station over a sting operation carried out in Malete and its environs by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The Anti-graft Agency, in the operation, arrested 50 persons for alleged internet fraud over which 48 of the suspects were students of KWASU.
A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, said KWASU students attacked the Malete divisional police headquarters.
“The attention of Kwara State Police Command has been drawn to a video circulating on the social media space. The commissioner of Police, CP Victor Olaiya seeks to address the recent gatherings by students of Kwara State University (KWASU) on February 22, 2024.
“Reports indicate that the gatherings, which began at about 1600hrs, centered around grievances related to the recent raids on black spots around the schools premises by operatives of NDLEA.
“Students living off Campus,expressed their dissent, marched from various parts of the town to Okoru Junction close to Malete Police Division, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Say No to NDLEA”.
“Efforts were made to engage with the students persuading them to return to their respective hostels and maintain peace. In the process, they encountered a white Toyota Hilux vehicle with registration number Lagos AGL 574 HZ, occupied by four armed police men from Ila-orangun led by Inspr Ibrahim Ali and three others on an official assignment to Malete.
“They were mistaken for operatives of Drug Law Enforcement Agents. Consequently, the students chased them to Malete Divisional Police Headquarters, where the Students began to throw Stones into the Police Station.
“Regrettably, this led to some damages to the rooftop of the mosque and wind screen of vehicles parked in the station. The Policemen fired tear gas cannisters to disperse the violent crowd to prevent further damage at the police station.
“Additionally, one police officer, PC Fayemi Kehinde, sustained minor injuries as a result of the stones thrown at the police station. He was given First Aid treatment at the hospital and discharged,” the statement read.