In many respects, the incident that
occurred on the night of Monday,
February 14, 2011 – Valentine’s Day – on
the campus of the University of Lagos
does not compare with what transpired in
Columbine High School, in Colorado,
United States, on Tuesday, April 20,
1999.
In Unilag, unconfirmed reports state two
persons are dead with a few others
injured, while in Columbine, 12 students
and a teacher were killed while another
24 people were injured. However, both
incidents amount to violence involving
guns on the premises of educational
facilities. Another difference may be the
resultant effect that these two incidents
have had on the institutions involved and
their larger societies.
On the night of February 14, 2011, in the
New Hall area of the University of Lagos
campus, an incident occurred that the
authorities have described as a “fracas”,
an “incident which occurred… in the late
hours of Monday, February 14, 2011,
where two persons were reportedly
injured….” While the cause of the “fracas”
may not be clear, as many versions are
available, depending on who you are talk
to, the situation seems a little more
serious – two people may be dead.
Reports indicate someone was shot in the
head at point blank range, while another
was mutilated with a machete. The said
incident is brewing fear of reprisal attacks
by the warring parties.
In October 30, 2010, Chijioke Onuoha, a
300-level student of Political Science,
University of Lagos, in collaboration with
an accomplice, readjusted the facial
features of a postgraduate student on
the campus, to the chagrin of everyone
present. While it appears Onuoha and his
partner in crime could not possibly have
any just cause for the disconcerting act,
findings suggest they have suffered no
repercussion for their condemnable
action. The point here, as alarming and
farfetched as it may seem, is there
appears to be a wave of violent acts on
the campus, and even more alarming is
the fact that these actions do not trigger
the sort of response one expects from the
relevant stakeholders.
The Columbine High School Massacre,
although by every standard far
outweighs the Unilag incident, did have a
lot of consequences. Far-reaching federal
and state legislations were introduced,
including gun-control laws to ensure
similar events do not recur. A hands-on
approach by the stakeholders to curb the
menace, you might say. Likewise, urgent
steps need be taken to ensure we do not
gravitate to the point where people –
students or not – become convinced they
can “pull a columbine.” If Onuoha and
friend can smash a person’s face and
nothing is done; or unidentified persons
can pull off attacks on campus without
obvious consequences, we may just be
on our way to witnessing orchestrated
attacks reminiscent of a John Woo action
flick on our campuses.
Proper information management is
crucial to running any organisation, at
whatever level and on whatever scale.
Collection and distribution of information
to those with a right to know is crucial to
solving problems involving stakeholders.
Security agencies employ this method all
the time, as there is bound to be someone
who possesses information required in
solving a mystery. Harbouring
information, on the other hand, leads to
more mysteries; the resultant
uncertainty places a strain on those
managing the information. All
stakeholders have a right to know what
transpired on the night of February 14,
2011, on the campus of the University of
Lagos. Only then can we successfully
map out strategies to forestall future
occurrences.

Obviously, the writer is soliciting for more and authentic information of what actually had transpired that day in the campus. Am sure there are students of the University with privy knowledge of what happened that fateful day, here in the forum who can give us a vivid account of events that day. Commentaries on other sites point the problem to cultism, one would think such things are almost non-existent in a school like UniLag that has somehow managed to repress cultism in the campus. What could have gone wrong this time, some people think it is an outside hit, whatever it is those ba$tard should not be let to go scot free.

Isn't it the same dude reported to have assaulted another student some years back?

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-356256.0.html

seriously, the university should be sued/held accountable for the most recent attack.

. In Uniport, the student would be expelled after facing a panel.

“The guy was bleeding through his nose
and right temple; his right eye and lips
were swollen. Even while he was down
and unconscious, the guy kept kicking
him with his boots; the beating was just
too much, ” said Ime Etim, a final year
student of the University of Lagos,
describing the assault that almost
resulted in the death of Jide Pinheiro, a
post-graduate student of the institution.
However, the extent of damage to Mr.
Pinheiro who has been in the hospital for
over three weeks remains unclear. His
right eye is swollen and he has trouble
forming images. The result of the CT scan
carried out on him has not been disclosed
to him, he said, and he could only guess
why.
The attack occurred on the evening of
October 30 this year, near the car park of
Mariere Hall. Eyewitnesses initially
thought Mr. Pinheiro had died after he fell
unconscious. “I was shaking where I was
standing,” added Mr. Etim.
According to witnesses, Chijioke Onuoha,
a 200 level student of Political Science
and his friend Donald Okeke repeatedly
hit Mr. Pinheiro on the head, with a brick.
Although they could not confirm the
reason for the attack, they heard Mr.
Onuoha shouting after the incident: “No
one can challenge me; there is nothing
anyone can do about it, don ’t you know
who I am?” Mr. Pinheiro was immediately
rushed to the school’s medical centre.
Three weeks have passed since Mr.
Pinheiro was temporarily confined to the
hospital bed. However, the students of
the institution say they are yet to see any
punishment meted out to the assailants,
and fear that the influence of his father, a
senior lecturer at the university, might be
the reason.
Chijioke Onuoha, also known as C.J, is a
part-time musician, and the son of
Browne Onuoha, a senior lecturer at the
institution ’s department of Political
Science, and the co-editor of Transition
Politics in Nigeria.
The incident at the park
In his hospital bed, and in a barely audible
voice, Mr. Pinheiro told NEXT he went to
the car park to buy suya, a barbecued
meat, when he saw Mr. Okeke and Mr.
Onuoha approaching their car which was
parked close by.
The trouble started when he overheard
one of them insult a lady: “One of them
said ‘get the be intimate with off the car’, I
was just looking, but in my mind, I was
like, ‘was that necessary?,’” said Mr.
Pinheiro.
After that, the two men accused him of
staring at them, and ordered him to kneel
down.
He said: “It was crazy; I don’t know why
they were acting like that. When I didn’t
move, the other one (Mr. Okeke) started
fiddling with his phone, like he was calling
somebody. I was like ‘I don’t want any
trouble’, but I knew what was coming
when one of them pushed me.
“ All I knew afterwards was waking up at
the hospital. To me, it was like a split
second, but obviously, it was not. I
blanked out instantly, it was later that
some of my friends told me he had also
hit my head against the metal
balustrades at the park. ”
At that point, Mr. Pinheiro fell
unconscious and it took him a week to
remember the events of the night. Some
of the witnesses who confirmed the
incident said they were amazed that Mr.
Pinheiro had not fought back.
“I still don’t understand why he did not
even raise an arm while the beating was
going on; the thing dey baffle me, ” said
Tunde Lawal, an eye witness.
“ I witnessed from when the guy (Mr.
Pinheiro) was standing tall, till he bent
low, the beating continued, and till he
was down, ” added Mr. Etim.
However, Mr. Pinheiro said he had not
defended himself because of a promise
he made to himself and his grandmother.
“ I have made up my mind not to be
violent; once, I had a fight with the driver
at home and my grandma wasn ’t happy,
so I promised myself not to fight anybody
again, ” he said.
Mr. Onuoha initially refused to speak with
NEXT when contacted on the phone,
“ You’d have to speak to my lawyer, that’s
all I’m gonna say to you,” he said.
He however admitted later that there had
been a fight but that he had acted in self-
defence. He claimed that Mr. Pinheiro had
drawn a knife from a nearby suya seller
and tried to attack him. He said Mr.
Pinheiro was in his way, and had not
moved when asked to move off.
“ I’m not gonna give you a long story; I’d
just say this: I told him to move out of the
way; he refused, he pushed me and I
pushed him back. He reached for the
Mallam ’s knife, and tried to stab me, so I
defended myself. It’s as simple as that; it’s
all I’m going to say to you,” he said.
In an interview with Monday, the suya
seller, he denied that Mr. Pinheiro took his
knife on the night, saying, “Na only this
knife I get for hand, and nobody take am
from me. ”
Efforts to reach Chijioke’s father, Mr.
Onuoha, at the Political Science
department of the university were
unsuccessful, as he was said to be out of
the country on sabbatical.
The circumstances surrounding the
attack remain unclear, but as Mr. Pinheiro
continues to wait for justice, his assailant
roams free.
Harris Longe, the school ’s Dean of
Students Affairs told NEXT that
investigations are underway but that any
action to be taken by the school would
follow a set of procedures, as is the norm
in the institution. “He’s going to face a
disciplinary panel that would determine if
he ’s to be rusticated or expelled; there are
laid down rules and regulations to that,”
he said, adding that “the panel would
decide how serious it is, but in this case, it
is serious because he (Mr. Pinheiro) was
hit on the head with an instrument; he
could have died. ”
He said the school cannot discipline the
other assailant, Mr. Okeke, because he is
not a student of the school but confirmed
however, that a report has been made to
the police, and he expects the victim to
follow-up on it.
The victim said he will press charges as
soon as leaves the hospital.