Yaba College of Technology (YabaTech) in Lagos State should be shut for the next four weeks, at least.
The school authority made the move after students violently protested the “questionable” death of final year colleague Dazan Charity.
No student should be left in the school premises by 12 noon on Thursday. The directive suspending all academic activities was issued late Wednesday, the day Dazan died.
But students have reportedly made it clear they would be going nowhere. Like they did on Wednesday, they have sealed all entrances to the school again, we were told.
Dazan’s untimely death came as YabaTech students were preparing for their second semester exams scheduled to begin next Monday.
Dazan, 27, was an HND2 student of the department of Office Technology and Management (OTM). She died two weeks before her final paper.
She had written a practical exam on Tuesday before falling ill. She went to the school’s medical center but was referred to Federal Medical Center (FMC), Ebute-Metta.
Both medical facilities allegedly “played ping pong with her life” before she died. She was, Wednesday, buried at Atan Cemetery which is not very far from the school.
Angry students later vandalized the YabaTech medical center same day. Armed police also shot in the air and unleashed teargas on protesting students. Some students were also arrested. They were later released.
The school issued a directive mandating all students to leave the campus. The school library and departmental blocks have also been sealed to forestall vandalisation.
But the students are reportedly staying put, we’ve been reliably informed.
“We have sealed the school gates again and are not going anywhere,” student told us this morning.
A source told us some “dangerous elements are using Dazan’s death to call for the resuscitation of the Student Union Government (SUG)” the school banned a while back.
But the students who spoke to said they want to mourn Dazan for two weeks and write exams after that.
“We are not prepared to go for any four week break…it’s too long,” one student said.
“We will remain here and mourn our colleague. We are not leaving.”
The students are also barring colleagues who want to exit the campus from doing so.
Here are more photos from the renewed protest:
