Protest: UNIBEN reopens Monday, directs students to produce sworn affidavit

University of Benin (UNIBEN) is set to re-open on Aug. 11 after a period of closure occasioned by students’ protests and agitations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the institution’s Senate had, on July 4, announced the closure of the school, following protests by students over weeks of power outage on the campus.

According to a circular released by the university’s Registrar, Ademola Bobola, students are expected to return to their halls of residence on Sunday, while lectures resume on Monday.

The registrar said during the closure, the university management addressed the issues that led to the shutting down of the institution, including electricity and water supply as well as renovation of halls of residence.

“The decision to reopen the university was made by the Senate at its meetings held on July 23 and 24, 2024, in tandem with the position of the Governing Council, critical stakeholders, and after a review of the current atmosphere in the country.

“As part of the conditions for resumption, each returning student is required to swear an affidavit of undertaking to be of good conduct while in the university.

“The affidavit must contain cardinal points, as captured in the document attached to the circular.

“Students are expected to upload the sworn affidavit on their Kofa page of the university and submit the hard copy to their departmental course adviser within two weeks of resumption,” he said.

Bobola stated that failure to comply with the directive might result in the withholding of results of defaulting students.

He assured students that necessary actions had been taken to address the issues that led to the closure, expressing the confidence that normal academic activities would resume without any hitch.

The registrar advised students to take note of the resumption date and comply with the conditions for resumption to avoid any consequence.

NAN