SAN FRANCISCO, October 02, (THEWILL) – Former Niger Delta militants studying in Russia courtesy of the federal government’s amnesty program have justified their attack on the Nigerian embassy in Moscow, Russia last week just as the Presidential Amnesty Office in Abuja Wednesday withdrew six of the 24 students enrolled at the Peoples University following their indictment in the attack.
Sixteen of the protesting students were later arrested by the police in Moscow.
A statement by one of the students, Okoriko Maxwell blamed the attack on the nonchalant attitude of the embassy towards two students who needed urgent medical care.
The students also protested over the nonpayment of their allowances.
The full text of the statement: “We were angry because the executives of the students visited the embassy for dialogue, we also put calls through to the Consular notifying them that two students needed serious medical attention but the embassy refused to take any action or come to their aid even as they await operation.
“The embassy in a recent meeting represented by the Consular and Deputy Head of Missions promised that we should give them one week to contact the head of education in the Niger Delta Scholarship Office which we did but they have till date refused to give us the feedback.
Mr. Raymond Ekpobodo on the 28th of January 2013 gave the embassy the sum of 442,971.62 rubles (more than 13 thousand dollars) belonging to the students as the remains of funds used in paying students tuition fee. This money was received by the consular.
“According to Mr. Raymond Ekpobodo, he was trusted by the former head of education in the programme, Mr. Patterson Ogon, to help him and pay stipends of students after which the receipt for the payment be given to the embassy because the man who was supposed to coordinate the students according to the former head of education did not meet the requirements of being awarded a contract, the embassy promised to add some money to the existing one which will be used for payment of students’ stipends, but for more than nine months, the embassy never accounted for this money even when we told them that we have not paid for medical insurance.
We therefore demanded for this money to enable us take two of our students to the hospital which they never provided. Heaven can bear us witness that we have met with the embassy.”
“We tabled our problems for four time but they never bring this money to save the lives of these two students who are still unable to attend classes because of their ill-health.
“We destroyed the furniture in the embassy because, we saw the billboard of the Sokoto state governor very large in the reception hall of the embassy, as civilized students, we see it as betrayal, unpatriotic and uncalled for to hang the portrait of Governor Aliyu Wamako on the wall of the conference hall of the embassy.
“The Defence Attache of the Nigerian mission in Russia, Air Commodore OluRotimi A. Ogunjobi who was the only principal officer pleaded with us the students and did his best by giving us evacuation fee to enable us vacate the premises and transport ourselves home. In that regards, we decided to live the embassy, five students have already left as we were all about to live back to the school. But to our greatest Surprise, a group of police men numbering up to 30 and above drove in through the back door of the embassy, they forcefully arrested us into the police BLACK MARIA VAN, we were then 16 because five persons already left the embassy. That was why every news headline only accounts for 16.”
“The police released us after confirmation from the Rector of the university that we the affected students have no records of hooliganism, or any traceable crime record with the university coupled with the efforts and attestation of Patriotic Nigerians for our outstanding records since our arrival in the Russia Federation on the 17th of March 2011. We were released after 19 hours under detention.
“We appeal to the office to contact the University for Further Investigation about some false allegations which was directed against us. We are proud to state here that we have never exempted ourselves from school and the university is our witness.
“We therefore appeal to the president of the federal republic of Nigeria to terminate the appointment of Amb. Assam Ekanem Assam. He is unprofessional and lacks managerial qualities, apart from the fact that he relegated the embassy to the status of a police post.”
Meanwhile the Presidential Amnesty Office has said the action of the protesting students was uncalled for as their claims were found to be untrue, unprovoked and a gross misconduct.
A statement from the Presidential Amnesty Office signed by the Special Assistant (Media), Mr. Daniel Alabra, quoted Kingsley Kuku as saying: “For going on rampage and violently attacking the Nigerian Mission, these students breached the Code of Conduct for delegates on scholarship that they all signed before their departure from Nigeria. It is also a gross misconduct, which the Nigerian government cannot tolerate. Students on its sponsorship cannot go on rampage on flimsy excuses in a foreign country and damage the image and reputation of Nigeria.
“Our records show that the students were not being owed their In-Training Allowance (ITA) for six months as they alleged. In fact, the only unremitted allowance was for the month of September 2013, which had been approved and was being processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time they attacked the Mission.
“My office had communicated the students on Friday, September 27, 2013 about the processing of their ITA for the months of September and October 2013 and the need for them to be patient while it was being handled by the CBN.
“We were therefore shocked when information got to us that the delegates had invaded the embassy, destroyed property and attacked the Mission officials over unpaid allowances. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Kuku, who is also the Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, said the school authorities will be communicated on the development.
He also dismissed speculations among former agitators in the Niger Delta that they will soon be paid the sum of Two Million Naira (N2m) each by the Amnesty Office.
“There is no such plan to pay any of them such amount,” Kuku said.
The rumour, he noted, had caused serious tension in some of the Niger Delta states and that his office had been inundated with unnecessary phone calls and enquiries.
*** The Nation newspaper contributed to this report.
