Plateau govt mourns student who died during strike protest

The Plateau State Government has commiserated over the death of a student of the Plateau State Polytechnic who was killed during a protest by students of the institution against a strike action by their lecturers.

It will be recalled that students on Monday staged a peaceful protest against the postponement of their semester examinations by the school authorities.

The postponement was a result of the strike embarked upon by the lecturers, who had issued a notice of strike to the government over what they described as its inability to meet their demands of earned allowances and other sundry issues.

During the protest, the military and the police were deployed, during which the victim was shot dead.

The government and security operatives denied reports of the killing.

The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Dan Manjang, on Tuesday, said as of the time the last press release was issued on Monday, there was no report of any death, except those injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

“However, the government has today (Tuesday) regrettably received the sad news from the police of the death of one of the students, who was said to have been hit by a stray bullet and taken to hospital for treatment, but could not survive.

“This is a very sad development which the government totally condemns and has therefore directed an immediate and thorough investigation to be conducted into the circumstances leading to the death of the student.

“While commiserating with the family of the deceased student, the government assures that it will not spare anyone found culpable in the death of the student as it is determined to ensure that justice is done,” the statement added.