Some military men yesterday disrupted the protest embarked upon by joint students of public universities in Ondo State over the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The angry students started the protest on Monday and barricaded the Akure-Ilesa Expressway in Akure, the state capital, preventing vehicular movements and caused traffic logjam for several hours.
According to an eyewitness, the students converged again yesterday and barricaded the road. However, after some hours of the protest, some military men in camouflage, who were traveling along the road in convoy, met the expressway barricaded by the protesters.
He said that the military men, after talking to the students to clear the road for them but following the students refusal, they shot into the air and dispersed the protesters, cleared the road and went on their way.
The eyewitness said: “When the soldiers got to the scene and met the road barricaded, some of them came down to speak with the students but they (students) refused to open the road.
“Suddenly, the soldiers shot sporadically into the air to disperse the protesters. Many people around the area also ran for safety. After that the soldiers cleared the road and their vehicles passed.”
The eyewitness, however noted that nobody was killed in the fracas.
For over a week, students had protested across Nigeria over the ASUU strike, calling on the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the striking lecturers.
Yabacity.com reports that the ASUU strike, which began on February 14, has entered 93 days.
