Rufus Giwa Poly Rugipo Students to Pay N168m for Protest Damages.
The students of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO), Owo will pay the sum of N168 million for the damages they caused after staging a protest in the institution earlier this year.
According to the Ondo state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who made this known while receiving the report of the four-man Committee of Inquiry set up to investigate the violent protest by students, said that the students were expected to appreciate the tools of learning put in place for their sake instead of destroying them.
The governor, who expressed surprise at the extent of damage, said government’s action would serve as a deterrent to others.
It would be recalled that the students destroyed the school’s ICT centre, vehicles and other valuables of the institution while protesting the ‘No school fees, no exam’ policy introduced by the management on Monday, 22nd January, 2018.
The governor said, “The ICT centre was already JAMB-compliant. Some of the students were found with computers and the students who are facing trial, if found guilty, will be made to pay for the crimes committed.
“Whatever it will take, the students will have to pay to the last kobo for it. Either they pay or they don’t come to school again.
“We will look into the report and agree on what each student will have to pay,” he added.
In his reaction, the Chairman of the committee, Oyekan Arije, described as unfortunate the destruction of the institution’s properties by the students.
Arije said that the panel met with all the stakeholders involved to ascertain the cause of the crisis in the school and also received various memoranda to assist it in its findings. (NAN)
