Boko Haram Scare: Law School DG Insensitive, Says NBA Ikeja Chair, Aguegbodo

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja
Branch, Mr. Bath Aguegbodo, has accused the Director-General of the
Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Ciroma (SAN), of being
insensitive to the danger students billed to write their
examination next week at the Bwari campus of the school would be
exposed to due to the scare of bandits’ attacks.

He said the students should be allowed to write the examinations
scheduled to start from Monday at other campuses due to the
reported security scare in the Bwari area.

Aguegbodo stated this yesterday when he appeared on ‘The Morning
Show,’ a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel.

He said: “I think it would be out of insensitivity on the part
of the director-general to continue to insist that the exams would
be taken. If you look at the Chibok issue, there was intelligence
information to both the security agencies and the management of the
school that they were open to attack and they ignored it. I think
it is important for everybody to apply pressure on the DG to see
reasons.”

The examination, he stated, must not take place in the Bwari,
adding that there are other campuses where security concerns are
not as serious as they are in Bwari.

“It is a bit sad looking at things the way it is panning out;
the security of students writing exams in Bwari should be
paramount. I have listened to comments credited to the
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and the
guarantees are given that security will be provided for students
who will write the exams in Bwari.

“But the question on my mind in the issue is security from
where? Just last week, we heard there were attempts in the Villa.
The Niger State governor had also said on two occasions that there
were some communities in Niger State, which is less than two hours
from where the law school is located, that has been taken over by
the Boko Haram people,” he said.

Aguegbodo added that the argument that JAMB is located at Bwari
and some other universities that are located there have not shut
down does not hold water.

According to him, the psychological state of the students
writing the exams must be considered.

He said: “What would be the mind of students writing exams when
they have fears that they may be kidnapped?

“The essence of the exams is to assess students as to their
preparedness on what they have been taught. I do not see how a fair
assessment would be done when a student is writing exams knowing
fully well that the bandits are just about two hours away from
them.

“The unsettled mind would definitely reflect in the final
result, which would not bring a fair assessment of what the exams
are meant to achieve at the end of the day. If they could take
their lecture in their various campuses, it would be the necessary
thing for the government to look at it, that it is the safety of
citizens first before the exams.

“My advice to Council of Legal Education, attorney-general and
the director-general of Nigerian Law school is that the safety of
the students must be put into place if the examination is to be a
fair assessment of what they have learned.“

He also canvassed the postponement of the examination by one or
two weeks.

Speaking on who should bear the cost, if the students were to be
relocated to other campuses, he said it was the duty of the
government to provide a conducive environment for the examinations
to hold, adding that if the environment is not conducive, the
government would have to bear the cost.

Parents of students at the Bwari campus had called on the
management of the school to relocate the students to its other
campuses owing to reported security scare in the area.

The worried parents, who insisted that the safety of their wards
should be the priority, stated that they did not want to go through
the same harrowing experience of parents of the Greenfield
University students abducted by bandits in Kaduna recently.

Boko Haram scare has created panic among the residents of the
Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in recent
weeks.

Bwari town, an outskirt of Abuja shares a boundary with Tafa
Local Government Area of Niger State.

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja
Branch, Mr. Bath Aguegbodo, has accused the Director-General of the
Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Ciroma (SAN), of being
insensitive to the danger students billed to write their
examination next week at the Bwari campus of the school would be
exposed to due to the scare of bandits’ attacks.

He said the students should be allowed to write the examinations
scheduled to start from Monday at other campuses due to the
reported security scare in the Bwari area.

Aguegbodo stated this yesterday when he appeared on ‘The Morning
Show,’ a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel.

He said: “I think it would be out of insensitivity on the part
of the director-general to continue to insist that the exams would
be taken. If you look at the Chibok issue, there was intelligence
information to both the security agencies and the management of the
school that they were open to attack and they ignored it. I think
it is important for everybody to apply pressure on the DG to see
reasons.”

The examination, he stated, must not take place in the Bwari,
adding that there are other campuses where security concerns are
not as serious as they are in Bwari.

“It is a bit sad looking at things the way it is panning out;
the security of students writing exams in Bwari should be
paramount. I have listened to comments credited to the
Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and the
guarantees are given that security will be provided for students
who will write the exams in Bwari.

“But the question on my mind in the issue is security from
where? Just last week, we heard there were attempts in the Villa.
The Niger State governor had also said on two occasions that there
were some communities in Niger State, which is less than two hours
from where the law school is located, that has been taken over by
the Boko Haram people,” he said.

Aguegbodo added that the argument that JAMB is located at Bwari
and some other universities that are located there have not shut
down does not hold water.

According to him, the psychological state of the students
writing the exams must be considered.

He said: “What would be the mind of students writing exams when
they have fears that they may be kidnapped?

“The essence of the exams is to assess students as to their
preparedness on what they have been taught. I do not see how a fair
assessment would be done when a student is writing exams knowing
fully well that the bandits are just about two hours away from
them.

“The unsettled mind would definitely reflect in the final
result, which would not bring a fair assessment of what the exams
are meant to achieve at the end of the day. If they could take
their lecture in their various campuses, it would be the necessary
thing for the government to look at it, that it is the safety of
citizens first before the exams.

“My advice to Council of Legal Education, attorney-general and
the director-general of Nigerian Law school is that the safety of
the students must be put into place if the examination is to be a
fair assessment of what they have learned.“

He also canvassed the postponement of the examination by one or
two weeks.

Speaking on who should bear the cost, if the students were to be
relocated to other campuses, he said it was the duty of the
government to provide a conducive environment for the examinations
to hold, adding that if the environment is not conducive, the
government would have to bear the cost.

Parents of students at the Bwari campus had called on the
management of the school to relocate the students to its other
campuses owing to reported security scare in the area.

The worried parents, who insisted that the safety of their wards
should be the priority, stated that they did not want to go through
the same harrowing experience of parents of the Greenfield
University students abducted by bandits in Kaduna recently.

Boko Haram scare has created panic among the residents of the
Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in recent
weeks.

Bwari town, an outskirt of Abuja shares a boundary with Tafa
Local Government Area of Niger State.