while the Chancellor was being driven past, he noticed that students
were loitering at about the time they were supposed to be seated at
the chapel. He said that this apparently infuriated him and he
alighted from his car and chased students to the chapel with knocks.
"I saw him, alighted from his car and chased students to the chapel; I
quickly found my way to the hall. Not quite long after, I saw students
jumping in through the windows.
It was a big commotion. Even the chancellor was going after those who
jumped into the chapel. Later, he addressed the students saying he
was very disappointed by the behaviour that the students were not
seated 15 minutes before the service."
Another account had it that while the Education Secretary, Prof. Aize
Obayan was addressing the students, the students were murmuring, then
the Chancellor immediately took to the microphone and said: "if I
hear the voice of any student, the curse of the Lord shall fall upon
that one." The chapel immediately went dead silent.
Our source who was also late to the service stated that the Chancellor
later directed that those students who did not come to the service
would be purged out saying they did not belong to the school. Our
source stated that at the end of the service, he prayed for the
students in the hall.
Another source in the school hinted that at that point, the
Vice-chancellor pleaded on behalf of those who were absent but the
Chancellor insisted they must be purged from the school.
Our source told Saturday Vanguard that the Vice-Chancellor while
addressing the students announced that a search would be carried out
in all the halls and colleges to find out those who failed to attend
the departure service, advising them to wait behind.
Saturday Vanguard investigation revealed that out of the figure, about
126 were expelled for not attending the 'departure service', five
were thrown out for smoking marijuana, twenty-five final year students
and undisclosed number of lower level students were caught violating
rules bothering on the University's core values.
We also gathered that a few others were given four weeks suspension
for failure to sign the head count that was conducted a couple of
weeks earlier. Some of the students opined that failure to sign the
head count was even a greater offence which implied that the student
was not in the school at the time of the exercise but yet got a
four-week suspension.
The private university is known for its strict rules and discipline
such as not allowing the students to use mobile phones within the
school's premises, while it is mandatory for students to always bring
their bible to the chapel.
Parents react
A few parents who volunteered information spoke to us on conditionof
anonymity fearing that their children might be victimised in case the
issue was resolved amicably. One of them said with bitterness that
it is unacceptable, adding that the expulsion was not commensurate
with the offence deemed to have been committed. He urged the school
authorities to rescind its decision adding that the future of the
students is at stake.
"For me, it is not acceptable. These students were not given fair
hearing. Expulsion should not be a punishment for failure to attend
service. We all agree, it is a Christian school but failure to attend
church service could be due to a lot of reasons. I gathered that some
of the students even finished their exams about 5pm that day.
So, those people that finished at that time had barely three hours to
prepare for the service. But stampeding them to congregate for service
and then expelling those who did not come is a decision taken too far.
For me, if there was poor attendance, I think the authorities have a
responsibility. They have not been fair in putting the service so
close to the examination. Even God will not do that."
He however commended the Chancellor, Dr. Oyedepo on his vision towards
the education of Nigeria children especially when the government
institutions are failing, but urging him to tamper justice with mercy.
Another parent who was afraid of the press noted that he was still
studying the situation and would not want to comment but noted that
he was reliably informed that some group of parents made frantic
efforts to meet with the Chancellor on the issue but without success.
It was not clear the level of the efforts made. He further hinted that
some students have not told their parents about their expulsion, still
hoping that the issue would be resolved.
He lamented that his child had been having sleepless nights, going
through mental torture unjustifiably. "I agree that discipline must
be instilled in the students but it should not be aimed at destroying
the life of the students. Expulsion is too great a punishment for non
attendance of a departure service, without even a warning especially
when the students hitherto, had not been found wanting," he stated.
What the Student Handbook says
The Covenant University Core values border on Spirituality,
Possibility Mentality, Capacity Building, Integrity, Responsibility,
Diligence and Sacrifice. On the spirituality aspect, it states:
"The Christian ethos underguard our activities and conducts at all
time andevery student of Covenant University is expected to exhibit
character traits and dispositions of a Jesus-centered heritage.
The Jesus – factorcentered approach to all issues is non-negotiable
and central in the pursuit of our mandate in raising a new generation
of leaders and in the realization of the objectives of our purpose.
Prof Okojie stated this during a telephone conversation Saturday
Vanguard had with him a few days ago.
"I am not aware of any expulsion by Covenant University; I will ask
the school authorities. Right now, I am not in Abuja, I left Abuja
few days ago and until Ireturn to Abuja and find out details about the
matter, I cannot comment on it," he said.
Culled from vanguardngr.com