2 killed, others missing as Taraba students protest arrest of principal

 

About two persons including a student of Abeda Holy Ghost Secondary School Peva have died, while two others were declared missing after the students in Takum local government area of Taraba state protest the arrest of their principal.

Reports revealed that the killings were carried out by Special Forces as the students staged a peaceful protest against detention of their principal one Mr. Mathew.

According to Daily Post, Mathew was accused of impregnating a schoolgirl, whose father was said to have reported the to the office of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps NSCDC in Peva where he was arrested and detained.

A source said the students after waiting in vain for their principal’s return for two days decided to mobilize themselves to the station where their principal was detained.

“While the students were going to the station where their principal was detained, we saw them in large numbers, you know the nature of students, whatever happened there between them and the officers we do not know but we discovered that there were heavy gunshots and teargas”

“The office of the NSCDC is close to a river, some of the students ran from the gunshots and fell into the water when they went back to the school, the school authority declared that three of the students were not back to the school from the protest”

“The next day which was Thursday, one of the students (a girl) was found dead in her uniform in the river, a situation that prompted another protest by the students, this time on Thursday, the protest was hijacked by some youths who were not happy with the death of the schoolgirl”

“The NSCDC seeing that there would be a crisis, they quickly called the Special Tax force that is deployed within the area to forestall crime and kidnaping, the Special Tax force arrived in Peva, they opened fire on the protesters, that was when a stray bullet hit a roadside mechanic and he died instantly”

“The two other students who were declared missing by the school authority have not been seen up to this time am speaking with you” the source disclosed on phone.

But, when contacted, Mr. Godwin Peter, the spokesman of the NSCDC Taraba State command told our correspondent on phone that he has not gotten details of the incident to confirm it to journalists.

Though, the police public relations officer Taraba State Command DSP. David Misar did not pick his phone to confirm the report, both the PPRO and the Commissioner of Police were in the area to ascertain the incident and calm the situation.

It was also reliably gathered that the police commissioner had engaged the locals and other security agencies in a round table discussion to calm the situation.