by crossriverwatch admin
Unidentified gunmen at the weekend shot at the Head of Department of Public Administration, University of Calabar, Dr. Felix Akpan at Big Munch in Calabar Municipality and also killed the gateman while running away.
Crossriverwatch gathered that, Akpan who is now receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital and some officials of the University of Calabar were said to be having a meeting at the place with some representatives of a first generation bank on the update of the hydro power project and the necessary things done so far by the university to secure a loan for the project from the bank.
The gunmen according to eye witnesses had gained entry to the place and went straight to the meeting point, one of them identified him (Akpan) and the other brought out a gun to shoot him in the head but luckily he collected the bullet with his hands, while attempt by the 70 year old gateman to close the gate when he heard the gun shot attracted the wrath of one of the assailants who immediately shot him dead.
Crossriverwatch further gathered that the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. James Epoke had on assumption of office made radical appointments to sanitize the institution in a bid to compete favourably with other universities in the world.
Akpan who was appointed the HOD of Public Administration on October 1, this year was said to have embarked on sanitization exercise which did not go down well with some sections of the university especially, some students that were said to be fond of evading payment of school fees.
A source close to Akpan who did not want his name mentioned alleged that three things could be responsible for the attempt on Akpan’s life.
First, he said that it was the policy of the university that students should pay 60 percent of their first semester fees before writing their examinations and then complete the remaining 40 percent before writing the second semester examination and that students suspected to be having fake receipts and in their final year were asked to present photocopies of all fees receipts for verifications.
He said there was a circular to that effect signed by the Director of ICT, Dr. Okoro emphasizing that any student found with fake receipts should be prosecuted. Students involved in examination malpractices are also to face the Senate Misconduct Committee.
The source said that Akpan’s strict adherence to these directives in the department even when he was in the Political Science department made many students to hate him as it was business as usual before his appointment.
While some claimed that he had frustrated a lot of them in the department, some also alleged that he is in the habit of harassing and intimidating students.
Our source further alleged that: “The most likely assailants will come from any of the categories especially final years who have been parading fake receipts. Some students were jubilating that he was not around to supervise the ongoing examinations”.
We gathered that he had reported over 200 students for examination malpractices, though some were not taken to the Senate Committee.
Another source claimed that since the Political Science and Public Administration departments were separated, there have been issues between Akpan and some highly placed officials in the political science department, especially as the Public Administration seems to generate more money to the university, which the source suspected could lead to such ugly situation.
Confirming the report, the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP John Umoh said that he was aware of the shooting of the lecturer and the killing of the security man but that he was not aware whether any arrest had been made, adding that investigation was ongoing to fish out those responsible for the crime.