The Management of Federal University Lokoja (FUL) is pained by the loss of her students, including the death of a 300 level student of Geography who was knocked down by a J5 bus, at the Oworo Estate of the Felele area of Lokoja on Thursday, October 28, 2021. 

While acknowledging the great loss and pain which the parents, friends and mates of the deceased students may be going through, the University wishes to inform the public of the measures put in place by the Management to address some of the concerns it had identified over time.

Security:

The security of the lives of students and staff is of top priority to this Administration. In this regard, the Vice-Chancellor had directed that all lectures and engagements with students at all levels be terminated at 4:00 pm and that students should vacate the Felele Campus latest, 5:00 pm every day. This is to ensure that Students and Staff are not exposed to security risks pending when the security architecture of the Felele Campus is improved upon.

Transportation:

Two University buses and two other privately owned shuttle buses have been provided by the University as an interim measure to ameliorate the transportation challenges faced by both staff and students. Plans are already on the ground to engage the services of other interested transporters to bolster the transport network between the Felele and Adankolo campuses. It is hoped that the full impact of these efforts will begin to manifest in no distant future

The University Management also wishes to clarify that the ugly incident that took the life of Mary Jane did not happen within the campus area and certainly not during official hours as students had closed and vacated the school premises more than two hours before the unfortunate incident occurred. This death is however highly regrettable.

The following are equally to be noted: 

That measures are already being taken to address over-speeding around and within the campus and to discourage tricycles, motorists, and other vehicles from using the one-way track.

The Headquarters of the Police Command is already perfecting arrangements to deploy its men to the University campuses to provide intelligence reports and other security support to enhance the safety of staff, students, and visitors of the University.

The point must be made that Management is doing its best to engender a conducive atmosphere for learning even in the face of meager resources at its disposal and that the University is not unmindful of the physical and academic expansion of the University.

Opening up the Felele Campus is ultimately in the best interest of our students. Accreditation of programmes and the needed expansion that will allow the College of Health Sciences and Faculty of Engineering to come on board are some of the many reasons the critical decision of moving to the Felele Campus (Permanent Site) was taken.

The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of the Management, prays for the repose of the souls of all its students who have lost their lives and wishes to state unequivocally that measures are in place to further strengthen the provision of a more secured and conducive learning environment.

The Vice-Chancellor is using this opportunity to appeal to the students who are rightly agitated to pursue peaceful means of expressing their grievances and to shun any violent approach that may create tension at the expense of peace and tranquility that is required for academic activities to thrive.

The entire University Community is hereby assured that the Vice-Chancellor and his Management Team are on top of the situation and that in the shortest possible time, all the observations raised by the students shall be fully addressed.

Public Affairs Unit,
Federal University Lokoja