We Never Booed Keyamo SAN For Saying That Nigerians Will Beg For Return Of SARS — Nile University Students

*Challenges Sahara Reporters To Produce Any Video Showing
Students Booing The Minister

The Representatives of the Ph.D. students of the Department of
Political Science and International Relations, Nile University
Abuja, have said that the Minister of Labour, Festus Keyamo (SAN),
was not booed for saying that Nigerians will beg for the return of
the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad popularly known as SARS.

The Representatives of the Students, in a statement made
available to Nairalaw dated June 19 signed by Chubado Babbi
Tijjani, said the Minister was invited to deliver a paper and he
(the minister) was of the opinion that punishing erring SARS
members would have been the better option instead of
disbandment.

Tijjani said many students recorded the event with their phones
and no single student booed the minister. He challenged Sahara
Reporters to produce any video showing students booing the
minister

“PRESS RELEASE BY REPRESENTATIVE OF POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE OF NILE UNIVERSITY, ABUJA.

“RE: BUHARI’S MINISTER, KEYAMO AT UNIVERSITY LECTURE SAYS
NIGERIANS WILL BEG FOR RETURN OF DISBANDED SARS, STUDENTS MOCK
HIM

“Our attention have been drawn to an online publication by
Saharareporters with the above caption which was widely circulated
yesterday.

“As organizers of the lecture we are totally embarrassed by the
falsity of this report that the Minister was booed by students
during the said lecture. Even the attached video by SaharaReporters
did not support the story. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing like
that or even close to that happened.

“For the records, the Minister was invited to deliver a paper on
‘Challenges of Global Security and the Implications for
International Human Rights Law: An African Perspective.’ Part of
the points he made during the lecture was that the recent upsurge
of crimes recorded in some parts Nigeria is not unconnected with
the disbandment of SARS without a READY replacement and the release
of hardened criminals in Correctional Centres in some parts of the
country. He went further to say, that what we needed to do as a
nation was to insist on punishment for the erring SARS operatives
and not a disbandment of the Unit. He cited examples of the wave of
robberies in the country during the eras of Armed Robbers like
Lawrence Anini and Ishola Oyenusi and other similar incidents that
led to the birth of SARS. He feared that we may be returning to
that era because we threw the baby away with the bath water.

“He noted how some Police officers in the US have also been
involved in extra judicial killings of Blacks, but nobody,
including the Blacks that protested, called for the disbandment of
those patrol units or any other unit of the US Police as a solution
to this. They have always insisted on bringing the erring officers
to book. It was in this context he submitted that it may reach a
point when we may begin to clamour for the return of SARS to help
fight these violent crimes that are returning to our society as the
regular Police is neither equipped nor trained to fight these
dare-devil robbers. The lecture was thought-provoking and
intellectual.

“The hall for the lecture was filled with about 300 students
that attended alongside the Vice-Chancellor and many Professors.
There was occasional applause throughout the lecture and no single
person booed the Minister. Very many students had their phones out
and were recording THROUGHOUT the lecture and if any such incident
happened, you can be sure the video of the boos would have been
trending by now. We challenge SaharaReporters to produce any such
video from the lecture. Many students took photographs with the
Minister after the lecture before he departed.” the statement reads
in part

Furthermore, Tijjani said as a citadel of learning, the students
welcome all shades of ideas and opinions in the environment and are
not skewed towards any particular kind of politics or opinions.

“That is the beauty of education.” he added

He therefore advised Saharareporters to “go and play its
politics elsewhere (if any) and leave us to entertain all shades of
opinions on our campus without deriding anyone with a particular
opinion.

“We do not know where and how the story-teller who fed
SaharaReporters the story came up with those tales by
moonlight.”

*Challenges Sahara Reporters To Produce Any Video Showing
Students Booing The Minister

The Representatives of the Ph.D. students of the Department of
Political Science and International Relations, Nile University
Abuja, have said that the Minister of Labour, Festus Keyamo (SAN),
was not booed for saying that Nigerians will beg for the return of
the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad popularly known as SARS.

The Representatives of the Students, in a statement made
available to Nairalaw dated June 19 signed by Chubado Babbi
Tijjani, said the Minister was invited to deliver a paper and he
(the minister) was of the opinion that punishing erring SARS
members would have been the better option instead of
disbandment.

Tijjani said many students recorded the event with their phones
and no single student booed the minister. He challenged Sahara
Reporters to produce any video showing students booing the
minister

“PRESS RELEASE BY REPRESENTATIVE OF POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE OF NILE UNIVERSITY, ABUJA.

“RE: BUHARI’S MINISTER, KEYAMO AT UNIVERSITY LECTURE SAYS
NIGERIANS WILL BEG FOR RETURN OF DISBANDED SARS, STUDENTS MOCK
HIM

“Our attention have been drawn to an online publication by
Saharareporters with the above caption which was widely circulated
yesterday.

“As organizers of the lecture we are totally embarrassed by the
falsity of this report that the Minister was booed by students
during the said lecture. Even the attached video by SaharaReporters
did not support the story. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing like
that or even close to that happened.

“For the records, the Minister was invited to deliver a paper on
‘Challenges of Global Security and the Implications for
International Human Rights Law: An African Perspective.’ Part of
the points he made during the lecture was that the recent upsurge
of crimes recorded in some parts Nigeria is not unconnected with
the disbandment of SARS without a READY replacement and the release
of hardened criminals in Correctional Centres in some parts of the
country. He went further to say, that what we needed to do as a
nation was to insist on punishment for the erring SARS operatives
and not a disbandment of the Unit. He cited examples of the wave of
robberies in the country during the eras of Armed Robbers like
Lawrence Anini and Ishola Oyenusi and other similar incidents that
led to the birth of SARS. He feared that we may be returning to
that era because we threw the baby away with the bath water.

“He noted how some Police officers in the US have also been
involved in extra judicial killings of Blacks, but nobody,
including the Blacks that protested, called for the disbandment of
those patrol units or any other unit of the US Police as a solution
to this. They have always insisted on bringing the erring officers
to book. It was in this context he submitted that it may reach a
point when we may begin to clamour for the return of SARS to help
fight these violent crimes that are returning to our society as the
regular Police is neither equipped nor trained to fight these
dare-devil robbers. The lecture was thought-provoking and
intellectual.

“The hall for the lecture was filled with about 300 students
that attended alongside the Vice-Chancellor and many Professors.
There was occasional applause throughout the lecture and no single
person booed the Minister. Very many students had their phones out
and were recording THROUGHOUT the lecture and if any such incident
happened, you can be sure the video of the boos would have been
trending by now. We challenge SaharaReporters to produce any such
video from the lecture. Many students took photographs with the
Minister after the lecture before he departed.” the statement reads
in part

Furthermore, Tijjani said as a citadel of learning, the students
welcome all shades of ideas and opinions in the environment and are
not skewed towards any particular kind of politics or opinions.

“That is the beauty of education.” he added

He therefore advised Saharareporters to “go and play its
politics elsewhere (if any) and leave us to entertain all shades of
opinions on our campus without deriding anyone with a particular
opinion.

“We do not know where and how the story-teller who fed
SaharaReporters the story came up with those tales by
moonlight.”