Delsu Lecturer, Enajite Ojaruega kidnapped since Monday May 19th

A lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Delta State University Abraka was abducted while on her way to work on Monday, May 19, 2014.

Enajite Ojaruega (pictured above) was ambushed and kidnapped at gun point near Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state. Since then nothing has been heard from her abductors and her whereabouts remain unknown.

ASUU, Delta State University, Abraka branch, in a statement by its Chairman, Professor Abel Diakparomre called on the state govt and security agents to ensure the release of Mrs Ojaruega, and lamented on the constant harassment and kidnap of its members

“The way things are at present, the lectures are in danger and the guarantee of their safety is in serious doubt. Further delay in the release of Mrs. Ojaruega would compel the branch to activate this principle which will not be in the interest of the society.

We must state that it is extremely sacrilegious to temper with an academic anywhere in the world. When a Harvard lecturer was harassed by policemen a few years ago, it caused serious uproar in the United States and across the world.

The matter was formally settled in the White House by President Barrack Obama. But this is usually not the case in Nigeria and especially in Delta State, where professors have often been kidnapped like the way hawks pick chicks. Kidnappers now deal with academics the way a wanton child deals with grasshoppers.

All over the world, lecturers are held in the highest esteem. They form the basis for societal and national development. To tamper with them is to tamper with the destiny of the society and the nation. Thus, the kidnap and harassment of lecturers must stop immediately.