March 13, (THEWILL) – Akwa Ibom State Government has ordered an immediate closure of a popular school, Aka Community Secondary School, Uyo, the state capital, for alleged cult related murder.
The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs Idongesit Etiebet, gave the order as a suspected cultist, one Samuel Archibong, reportedly stabbed a Senior Secondary 2 student, James Elijah, to death on Thursday at the close of school.
According to a source from the school, Archibong, an ex-student of the institution, who was expelled from the school over cult related issues, resurfaced on that fateful day.
The source, who is a student of Aka Community Secondary School, said there was a minor disagreement as soon as he arrived between him and James and in the ensuing scuffle, Archibong brought out a knife and stabbed the victim to death and took to his heels.
According to him, “He ran away after stabbing James to death. The angry students would have killed him if they had met him at home. They protested to his father’s house to revenge James Elijah’s death, but he was no where to be found”, the student who refused to give his name narrated.
However, the state commissioner, Mrs Etiebet, while condemning the incident, ordered that the institution be shut, to enable the State Secondary Education Board and the Ministry of Education wade into the matter and restore calm.
“We advise parents to ensure their wards remain indoors until the ministry and the school wade into the matter to restore normalcy”, Etiebet stated.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, who confirmed the incident, described it as barbaric and regrettable.
In a statement made available to THEWILL in Uyo, entitled: “Another Colossal Loss”, Macdon regretted that secondary schools, which are supposed to be arenas of excellent knowledge acquisition, have become theatre of bloodbath and fighting.
“It is again regrettable, that on the 10/03/2022, a Student of Aka Community Secondary, one Samuel Effiong Achibong stabbed his mate, 18-year-old James Elijah Adoke to death. This is not the first time we have witnessed an act of this nature and it is totally unacceptable.
“As a Command, we have to send patrol teams to some secondary schools after closing hours to ensure that students can go home safely, else a fight may ensue, it’s not only painful, but condemnable.
“The Commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, is miffed and has condemned the barbaric act. He has called on parents to enshrine germane family values, while school authorities are to quickly and discreetly report suspected students with traits of cultism and misdemeanor.
“The CP notes that the command will henceforth deploy its Special Surveillance Units to check excesses of students and nip them in the bud, before untoward incidents happen”, the statement noted.
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