Students of Fourah Bay College protesting against the rustication and expulsion of 31 of their colleagues yesterday ran amok with police who went to disperse them on campus. The police fired tear gas and arrested 22 people including nine females.
Special Gender Adviser to the president, Nasu Fofana visited the female students in detention at the CID headquarters. The students, who looked disheveled, alleged that they were assaulted by the police. Nasu took copious note and sought to calm them down assuring them of their immediate release. All 22 students were released last night.
While their colleagues were being detained, over 200 students later converged at State House chanting “No rustication, no expulsion” for their colleagues and demanded the release of their arrested colleagues. They also demanded the sacking of Minister of Education Dr Minkailu Bah and the reinstatement of their suspended colleagues.
Later they were addressed by Chief of Staff at State House, Kelfala Marrah following a closed door meeting.
Students’ Union Minister of Information, Ibrahim Kanteh told Politico that government had asked them to stay further action while it looked into the matter. He said however that while they would put a halt on their street protests they would still keep the classrooms locked. On Friday the students changed the locks to building and closed them with theirs.
The college administration on Friday indefinitely suspended end-of-year examinations which were disrupted by the student protests.
Last week the University Court of the University of Sierra Leone upheld a decision by the University Senate to expel and suspend for between one and two years some 31 students on grounds of indiscipline. They were said to have illegally occupied the college hostels and beaten up the warden of students.
