RIVPOLY Shut Down, One Feared Dead

The Management of the Rivers State Polytechnic (RIVPOLY) in Bori, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, says it has closed down the institution following a violent riot by students on today, Thursday, 2^nd October.

The rampaging students set ablaze some buildings within the campus and looted school properties alleged to be worth millions of naira.

The Senior Assistant Registrar on Public Relations of RIVPOLY, Innocent Ogbonda Nwanwu, made this known while briefing newsmen after the incident in Bori.

The registrar said: “A student was killed. They said that the boy was beaten to death and then they took to the streets of the polytechnic, closed the gates. They went on a rampage and looted some of the properties of the polytechnic.

“They attacked the Chief Security Officer of the Polytechnic so the authorities of the polytechnic had to close the school. Students have been asked to vacate the campus. The situation is under control now”.

Speaking with female student who was at the scene of the event and spoke on grounds of anonymity said that the riot was sparked by the death of a student who was allegedly beaten by chief security officer of the institution.

She said: “the students were conducting ethnic group exco elections. As the election was going on, one of the student was objecting to the procedures adopted when all of a sudden the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the institution came and started beating the boy along with others he invited until the boy slumped. This morning we saw the CSO with an ambulance carrying the boy away. For now I don’t know if the boy is alive or not, but the students are rioting and destroying the school properties.

From the second picture, security agents can be seen running after the students to forestall further damage.