UniUyo Crisis: 44 Students Arraigned Over Arson, Murder

The police have arrested forty four students of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, charging them with murder and arson, after last week's riot.Governor Godswill Akpabio revealed this during a meeting with striking airport workers, he also alleged that the riots where funded and organized by students who were facing problems with their academics."The UniUyo crisis was targeted and planned, that was why the Vice Chancellor's office, the Registrar's office, where documents of the school were kept were burnt,'' he said.The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr Etim Dickson, also confirmed these reports and said the suspects have already been brought forward to the Courts to face justiceOur correspondent reports that the suspects who were picked up at various locations were taken to the court by the police in eight Hilux vans amidst tight security. Magistrate Lawrence Udonwa, who refused to grant bail to the students pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) ordered that the case be transferred to the High Court, just as he ordered that the culprits be reminded in prison.