Some days ago, we brought to you a news about nigerian student attack of the country's embassy in moscow (Read here if you meet the news). Well, the student has eventually reveal the reason for the attack...Report from thenation news says:
"Following a disgraceful incident in Nigerian Embassy in
Moscow, Russia, the Presidential Amnesty Office has issued an
announcement saying six of the violators would be withdrawn from the
country. Meanwhile, the students gave account for their actions and
explained what factors led to the protest.
All withdrawn students were beneficiaries of a special amnesty programme's scholarship scheme for Niger Delta youths.
16
Nigerians studying in Russia were apprehended by the Russian
authorities after wreaking havoc at the Nigerian Embassy. Hon. Kingsley
Kuku, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, condemned the
protest in a statement, calling students’ claims “untrue,”
“unprovoked,” and “a gross misconduct”. Mr. Daniel Alabra, the
Special Assistant (Media), Presidential Amnesty Office, who represented
Mr. Kuku, said the students breached the code of conduct for delegates
on scholarship which they all agreed to and signed before their
departure for Russia. He said students on the Nigerian government
sponsorship cannot damage the image and reputation of Nigeria, and
these actions would not be tolerated. “Our records show that the
students were not being owed their In-Training Allowance (ITA) for six
months as they alleged. In fact, the only unremitted allowance was for
the month of September 2013, which had been approved and was being
processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time they attacked
the Mission,” the statement read. According to the statement,
the students were asked to be patient while their ITA for the months of
September and October 2013 would be processed. Mr. Kuku, who is
also the Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, says he was “shocked”
when they got the information about the delegates had invaded the
embassy, destroyed property and attacked the Mission officials over
unpaid allowances. He added the school authorities will be communicated on the development. He
also refuted assumptions spread among former agitators in the Niger
Delta that each of them will soon be paid the sum of two million naira
by the Amnesty Office. Meanwhile, the Niger-Delta students on
scholarship in Peoples' Friendship University of Russia have explained
their actions. One of the students, Okoriko Maxwell, released a
statement where he gives accounts of the events that led to staging a
violent protest at the Embassy.
Read the statement below: “We were angry because the executives of the students visited the embassy for dialogue.
“We
also put calls through to the Consular notifying them that two students
needed serious medical attention, but the embassy refused to take any
action or come to their aid even as they await operation. “The
embassy, in a recent meeting represented by the Consular and Deputy Head
of Missions, promised that we should give them one week to contact the
head of education in the Niger Delta Scholarship Office, which we did,
but they have till date refused to give us the feedback. Mr. Raymond
Ekpobodo on the 28th of January 2013 gave the embassy the sum of
442,971.62 roubles (more than 13 thousand U.S. dollars) belonging to the
students as the remains of funds used in paying students tuition fee.
This money was received by the consular. “According to Mr.
Raymond Ekpobodo, he was trusted by the former head of education in the
programme, Mr. Patterson Ogon, to help him and pay stipends of students
after which the receipt for the payment be given to the embassy. Because
the man who was supposed to coordinate the students, according to the
former head of education, did not meet the requirements of being awarded
a contract, the embassy promised to add some money to the existing one
which will be used for payment of students’ stipends. But for more than
nine months, the embassy never accounted for this money even when we
told them that we have not paid for medical insurance. We therefore
demanded for this money to enable us take two of our students to the
hospital which they never provided. Heaven can bear us witness that we
have met with the embassy.” “We tabled our problems for the fourth
time, but they never bring this money to save the lives of these two
students who are still unable to attend classes because of their
ill-health. “We destroyed the furniture in the embassy because we
saw the billboard of the Sokoto state governor very large in the
reception hall of the embassy, as civilized students, we see it as
betrayal, unpatriotic and uncalled for to hang the portrait of Governor
Aliyu Wamako on the wall of the conference hall of the embassy. “The
Defence Attache of the Nigerian mission in Russia, Air Commodore
Olurotimi A. Ogunjobi, who was the only principal officer, pleaded with
us the students and did his best by giving us evacuation fee to enable
us vacate the premises and transport ourselves home. In that regards, we
decided to live the embassy, five students have already left as we were
all about to live back to the school. “But to our greatest
surprise, a group of police men numbering up to 30 and above drove in
through the back door of the embassy, they forcefully arrested us into
the police van, we were then 16 because five persons already left the
embassy. That was why every news headline only accounts for 16.” “The
police released us after confirmation from the Rector of the university
that we the affected students have no records of hooliganism, or any
traceable crime record with the university coupled with the efforts and
attestation of Patriotic Nigerians for our outstanding records since our
arrival in the Russia Federation on the 17th of March 2011. We were
released after 19 hours under detention. “We appeal to the office
to contact the University for Further Investigation about some false
allegations which was directed against us. We are proud to state here
that we have never exempted ourselves from school and the university is
our witness.
“We therefore appeal to the president of the federal
republic of Nigeria to terminate the appointment of Amb. Assam Ekanem
Assam. He is unprofessional and lacks managerial qualities, apart from
the fact that he relegated the embassy to the status of a police post.”
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