A yet to be specified number of students of Plateau State Polytechnic sustained various degrees of injuries on Monday after a peaceful protest the students turned violent.
An eyewitness who spoke to KemiFilaniNews correspondent on anonymous condition said the protest was peaceful until some security operatives opened fire on the unarmed peaceful protesting students who were protesting the strike embarked by the polytechnic lecturers on the day of their examinations.
The eyewitness said; “The students of Plateau state polytechnic were to start exams today Monday, September 20, 2021. The time table was out and students were ready. On reaching the school, the students were informed that the lecturers have embarked on strike. Students are tired of everything, most students are supposed to have long gone for service and some finish their course, they have been in a class since 2019 up till now in the same class. Students immediately started a peaceful protest of “NO EXAMS NO ROAD” in both the Jos campus and the main campus. Some security personnel came trying to calm students down but they refused. The security personnel on bikes came and were moving ruthlessly and with no just reason opened fired on the protesting students, some ran back to the school, the bullet met some students and it hit a boy straight to the head, bruised some, that not being enough they opened teargas to students, some fainted some were able to outrun it. This security followed students into the school and was still shooting.”
The eyewitness added that the injured students have been taken to various medical facilities including the school clinic and were receiving treatment.
Efforts by our reporter to get Police comment proved abortive as a spokesperson of the Plateau State Police Command could not be reached as at the time of filing this report.