Shun Involvement In Organised Crimes, CSO Tells Rivers Students

A civil society organisation (CSO), the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), has called on students in Rivers State to shun all forms of organised crime, particularly, illegal oil refining activities, commonly known as “Kpofire.”

The executive director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, made the call on Thursday while speaking during a sensitisation workshop for students of Government Secondary School, Oyigbo, in Oyigbo local government area of the state.

Fyneface expressed worry that organised crime, especially artisanal refineries, were common sight in communities across the state and the entire Niger Delta region.

He stated that organised crimes were continuously maintained through corruption of public officials and the use of intimidation, threats or forces to protect their operations.

The YEAC-Nigeria executive director said: “By this sensitization programme, YEAC-Nigeria is warning you all against involvement of organized crime especially artisanal refineries which are common sight in communities across Rivers State and the Niger Delta region.

“Illegal refining activities cause environmental pollution and cause explosions that lead to the killing of those involved with a few survivors sustaining lifetime injuries that leads to permanent deformation.

“Some others are arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned by the NSCDC turning them into convicts and ex-convicts and you will be stigmatized against for the rest of your lives making you less useful to society, a situation that is avoidable.”

Fyneface blamed the rising cases of examination malpractice in secondary schools on parental failure, corrupt educational system, poor students attitude, societal failure, undue emphasis on academic results/certificates acquisition against knowledge, and inadequate preparation by students.

He described examination malpractice as a deliberate wrongdoing contrary to official examination rules designed to place a candidate at an undue advantage or disadvantage, and warned the students that penalty for exam malpractice under the 1999 Examination Malpractice Act include five-year jail term or a fine of N100,000.

The YEAC-Nigeria executive director said: “Examination malpractices include dubbing, sorting, girraffing, copying, writing on the body, use of sign language, impersonation, leakage of exam questions, tampering with results, bribery, sex-for-marks, use of mercenaries, computer fraud during computer-based exams, fraudulent practices by invigilators, among others.

“Effects of examination malpractice include, dismissal, termination, loss of position, lack of self-confidence, loss of trust in the educational system, reduced enrolment of students in school, cancellation of results, discourages good students/candidates from studying hard, deprives innocent students’ opportunity for admission, decreases job efficiency, prostitution, stealing and armed robbery.”