Nigerian university expels 40 students over cult activities

LAGOS – A university in Nigeria’s oil-rich but restive south has expelled 40 students for acts of violence or the practice of cults on campus, a spokesman said yesterday.

“The vice-chancellor of the Niger Delta University, Professor John Buseri, has approved the expulsion of the students in pursuance of the anti-violence policy of the institution,” information officer Brodric Peireye told AFP. He said the students were found guilty of involvement in recent campus violence that left at least five students dead.He urged other students to “avoid any form of indecent dressing, membership of cult groups and examination malpractices”.In a related development, police authorities in nearby Edo State said the bodies of five students of Auchi Polytechnic killed in clashes between two rival cults on Friday had been recovered.”The bodies of the students were found in a ditch at the weekend after two cult gangs – Black Axe and Vikings – fought in the school,” a senior police officer told AFP.No arrests were made, he added.Hundreds of students are either suspended or expelled from Nigerian universities annually because of campus unrest which has claimed scores of lives.- Nampa-AFPHe said the students were found guilty of involvement in recent campus violence that left at least five students dead.He urged other students to “avoid any form of indecent dressing, membership of cult groups and examination malpractices”.In a related development, police authorities in nearby Edo State said the bodies of five students of Auchi Polytechnic killed in clashes between two rival cults on Friday had been recovered.”The bodies of the students were found in a ditch at the weekend after two cult gangs – Black Axe and Vikings – fought in the school,” a senior police officer told AFP.No arrests were made, he added.Hundreds of students are either suspended or expelled from Nigerian universities annually because of campus unrest which has claimed scores of lives.- Nampa-AFP