The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin chapter, yesterday condemned the killing of a senior lecturer of the University of Benin, Professor Paul Otasowie, describing it as one death too many.
It also blamed the incident on the level of insecurity in the state, which he said, had kept the people on edge. The deceased lecturer was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in front of his residence on Siluko Road in Oredo local council of Edo State on Wednesday evening.
Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Nkombe, said three suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing. ASUU Chairman in the institution, Prof. Julius Iyasele, said, “As it were, the Edo people and Nigeria at large are under siege because within a space of one or two months, a number of our colleagues have been kidnapped or murdered in cold blood.
“A few days ago, a colleague from the Ekiti State University was shot at the Benin bypass, while one of our colleague’s in-law who visited at Ekiadolor was also picked by kidnappers.
“When the family went to drop the money to release the person, the kidnappers had sub-machine guns because they had bullets strapped around them.”
Iyasele faulted the disbandment of community development associations (CDAs) without an alternative for the dependants and called on the state government and the Nigeria Police to step up their security strategies in order to protect lives and property.
“The state government stopped CDAs and there is no alternative to them. The CDA members are people who are used to spending big-time money. You blocked area boys and there is no alternative; you have simply unleashed terror on the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said that while there was no excuse for committing crime, the state had a better employment record than any of its peers in the South-South region.
“I think we should allow the police to carry out their constitutional responsibility. Many people have that the governor is the chief security officer of the state and of course, he is, Osagie said.
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