ASUU protests over kidnap of AAU lecturer

The lecturers during the protest

Lecturers of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, under the Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Friday protested over the disappearance of one of their colleagues, Dr. Paul Erie.

Erie, who is an Associate Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, was reportedly kidnapped at his residence in Igbanke, Orhiowmon Local Government Area of the state, on June 16, 2015.

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It was gathered that the family of the university don was contacted two days later by the kidnappers.

The aggrieved lecturers took their protest to the Ekpoma Police Division, the palace of monarch in the area and a popular market square in the town to register their grievances, decrying the spate of kidnapping of its members or their relatives.

The chapter Chairman of the union, Professor Fred Esumeh, explained that the suspected kidnappers had slashed the N30 million ransom demanded from the family of the lecturer to N7 million.

“They (kidnappers) started with N30 million to N12 million and down to N7 million and suddenly stopped contact. The family was last contacted on June 19,” Esumeh said.

He added that the family was yet to get an update on rescue efforts by the police.

But efforts by our correspondent to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Stephen Onwochei, to either confirm or refute the claim were unsuccessful at the time of filing the report.

However, the chapter chairman of ASUU, who also recalled that more than eight lecturers of the institution had been kidnapped in the past, listed some of them as Professor O. P. Nmorsi (Department of Religious and Cultural Management), Professor E. E. Okoeguele (Botany Department), Dr. Justina Ehikhiamen (Department of Philosophy) and Mrs. L. A. Osho (Vocation and Technical Education).

Others are the wives of Prof. J. E. Osemekhian, Professor Raymond Aluede, Professor I. A. Onimhawo and Dr. Ken Imarenezer of the Departments of Physics, Educational Foundations, Biochemistry and Microbiology respectively.

He, therefore, appealed to security agencies and the Edo State Government, to beef up security around the university in order the check the menace, which according to him, could affect academic activities.

Esumeh said, “Teaching and learning cannot take place in an environment where fear reigns supreme and insecurity is the order of the day.

“We believe that this ugly trend has become pervasive and almost a normal thing because little or nothing has been done to apprehend the hoodlums as they seem to be having a free day in their nefarious business.”