AbdulRazaq Orders Probe Of Kwara Poly Students Protest

The Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday constituted a three-person panel to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the Tuesday students’ protest at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

The constitution of the panel was announced in a statement signed by the commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu.

The committee is headed by the attorney general and the commissioner for Justice Bar. Senior Ibrahim Sulyman.

Other members are the Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Nafisat Buge, and the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare, Dr Mercy Olufunke Shittu.

The committee has two weeks to submit its report to the governor. Its terms of reference are to examine the remote and immediate causes of the protest and its handling, recommend ways to prevent such occurrences in the future, and make further recommendations on the school’s growth.

According to the statement, the governor has also directed the Polytechnic’s director, Dr Abdul Jimoh Mohammed, to step aside from his role until further notice, while the most senior deputy rector should act in his place in the interim.

“The committee will engage with all relevant stakeholders on its assignment, it added.

LEADERSHIP reports that the governor had on Tuesday ordered the closure of the polytechnic following students’ protest against the relocation of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp to the institution.

The peaceful protest turned bloody as the policemen drafted to the institution to control the situation reportedly fired teargas at the protesting students, a development that escalated the tension.