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How I survived attack by my student – Unilorin lecturer

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2021

Dr. Rahmat Zakariya, lecturer, Department of Microbiology, University of Ilorin

Dr. Rahmat Zakariya, a lecturer at the Department of Microbiology, University of Ilorin, made national and international headlines this week when her story went viral after a student, Waliyullah Salaudeen, attacked her following alleged disagreement over SIWES programme. In this exclusive interview with Daily Trust, she narrated her side of the story which has been missing from the dominant narrative out there about the incident. She also clarified what she termed misconceptions about the whole issue. Excerpts

There have been several reports out there about the incident, what is your own side of the story?

Thank you very much. Let me first point out the loopholes from the stories that had gone viral. When I was giving my statement to the police after what transpired, I was told he (Waliyullah) didn’t deny any of my account.

He was reported to have said you threw a mug at him when he entered your office, how true is that?

The story of me throwing a mug at him is baffling to me. What chance did I have? There was none. This was someone who barged into my office and was saying I sent someone to kill him. He was banging on my table and punching me. So, how is it possible for me to throw a mug at him?

What is your relationship with him?

I have seen a lot of publications that said that I’m his Level Adviser and supervisor. But none of this is true. I’m neither his Level Adviser nor Supervisor, I’m just a lecturer at the department and the SIWES Coordinator.

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When did your contact with him over this issue start?

If at all we had contact prior to that day, November 11th, 2021, it was when he met me to tell me that he didn’t do his SIWES, that he only spent a month at the programme and I asked him why didn’t he complete it. He said he was ill. I told him to get his medical report to show that he was truly ill and take it to where he did his SIWES, he could be lucky and they may be compassionate enough if he was diligent when he was there to help him endorse the remaining part of the logbook and he left. He didn’t show up again. Then, I met him again on the university walkway and inquired why I didn’t see him again and if he has gotten his medical report. He said he had sent for it but he was yet to receive it. I was wondering why medical report will become such an issue if truly he was sick. Then about two days after, I met him with his Level Adviser and I said he has to re-register SIWES. But the level adviser only smiled when I was giving him the way around it.

How does the University SIWES operates?

Normally, if you register SIWES for second semester, the person will not be able to do other courses again because there won’t be any opportunity to add any other course. So, l said he should register for the programme but he will be doing his project and the SIWES at where we can monitor him at the Medical Research Lab very close to the department. I then told the level adviser to liaise with the director to make a placement for him. You see, he had carry overs in lower level courses because he is actually a weak student. So, by this arrangement, he will be able to do his carry over courses for first semester and next year when he comes back, he wouldn’t have a huge workload. He will just register for the project. That was the advice I gave to him and this happened like six months ago, maybe late April or early May when the university just resumed. The SIWES has the largest unit required to bag a Bsc – 6 credits, which is larger than project. So, we had to start a new modality of grading the student because it is not possible that we will just be awarding them free marks. We now said after they submit their log book, they are going to do the presentation of everything they experienced during the programme. The funny thing is that we just adopted it this session. This was how our contact started in the first place.

Didn’t he come for presentation?

There were lots of students that came for the presentation which is about forty marks or thereabouts. But with their presentation, you will simply know they didn’t do much during the SIWES programme. Now, he has seen that there is no way around it but there are more legit ways to go about it if he was remorseful and wanted to be a good boy. But he didn’t show up. It was after that day, remember I said earlier his Level Adviser only smiled while I was talking to him about the boy. He later made me realize that even if he had done his SIWES, he would still have spilled for two more years and he didn’t even come at all for his first semester exams he registered for.

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Have you had any issues with him before that you suspect might have triggered his hostile attitude towards you?

No, I didn’t insult him whatsoever before and now. When he barged into my office, he did so with a smile in his face. The courteous thing was to knock and open but he just pushed the door with force, addressing me by my name that Zakariya why am I after his life and why did I send one Azeez to come and kill him. He was asking me in Yoruba how much I paid the people I sent to kill him. What do I have to do with someone of such character?

Are you familiar with the Azeez he was talking about?

Not at all. And that was why I felt initially that there was a mixed up and I started pleading with him to calm down. Then he started banging on my table, asking what can I do to him, swearing and using the F-word. Imagine him telling me that. All of a sudden, he moved closer to my chair and started punching me and by that time I was already screaming for help.

Where you alone in the office when he came?

There were two of my female students in the inner lab who came pleading with him to let go of me. One was a Niqobite and the other one was a very slim girl. But he threatened to kill them before he kills me if they moved closer. He later went outside, saying that those people who did what I did to him in the past lost their lives in the process and that I wouldn’t try it with him again in my life.

So that was when you ran out?

Yes, I had now gone outside opening several doors to my colleagues’ offices screaming for help but none of them was available. So, when he noticed I couldn’t get any help, he turned back and started chasing me until we got to the General Lab. When I got there, I quickly locked the door and he kept banging the door. There were two offices inside the general lab but they were both locked. When he noticed that I had locked the door, he went to window and broke the louvres with his bare hands, I was shocked. He them removed his shoe and used it to clear the broken pieces to enable him enter without getting injured. Although he was strapping a bag, I didn’t see him with any weapon or ammunition. But after that action, I was sensitive to the fact that he might want to use the broken pieces of the Louvres to stab me. So, I quickly went back to the door, open it and started running. He entered through the window and continued pursuing me. He was able to catch up with me and started punching me while I was on the ground, that was the video that many people saw. But that was his third attempt at trying to kill me. If you look at the video properly, you will see that it was until the person who came handed me over to someone else before he was able to chase him. He was initially walking away majestically. He wanted to leave me at that point because he felt I was unconscious and he has accomplished his aim. It was just God that saved me, Alhamdulillah.

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Have you experienced such attack since you joined the university?

I have never. My dad and my husband are not violent people and that was why my dad said “a child that he has never touched to be so attacked by someone.”

How do you feel about the whole scenario as a lecturer?

Alhamdulillahi that I’m a Muslim and I’m grateful to God. I believe the good things I have been doing in the past paved the way for me this time around. I will try my best not to deviate but it’s not easy, wallahi, to still maintain the person you are.

What is your relationship like with the other students?

Many students who I am not their supervisor or Level Adviser want to come to me, just go and ask, because they know I will advise them and even support them financially in many instances, including my old students. Although I am still very young in the academics, I will be 8 years in January 2022, but I have students from far and near whom I have influenced and impacted positively. I learnt a lot of things from friends I met in the academic circle but maybe I was overdoing my own because I was too close and attached to my students and took them like my sisters and relatives. I became a level adviser immediately I got the job. I have had about two experiences which some people wanted to misinterpret. In 2018, at our faculty, I was identified and awarded as the best Level Adviser. Since my first year of becoming a level adviser, I have been soliciting for my students. There were some of them I assisted financially – both Muslims and Christians, and their parents will come asking me when to pay back but I declined. I don’t look at religion. So, you can imagine my relationship with them but see what it eventually turned out to.

READ ALSO:

Why I attacked, battered my lecturer – Final year UNILORIN student

What is your message?

We should all try our best to bring up our children in the fear of Allah. We should all play our part and leave the rest to God, that is it. I pray God will have mercy on us with the level of moral decadence. I hope parents are learning from this episode. Though I don’t know how that boy was raised, but we should all instil the fear of God in our children.

Daily Trust

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NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills

Published

49 minutes ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday insisted on the withdrawal of the Tax Reform Bills forwarded by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly for passage to enable all key national stakeholders to be part of the process.

Recall that the bills had drawn sharp criticisms from some parts of the country, especially the north, which saw them as anti-growth in the region.

It also implored the government at all levels to prioritise the welfare and well-being of the citizens in 2025.

In its New Year message to Nigerians, especially workers, the President of NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, equally said organised labour would step up its battle for an upward wage review for workers to mitigate the high costs of living.

The message, titled “In 2025, hope is in our collective resolve,’’ read: “As we step into the year 2025, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, extends warm New Year greetings to every worker and citizen across our great nation.

‘’The challenges of survival we have faced as a people must not hold us down. Instead, let us find inner strength to build a collective resolve to drive Nigeria out of the morass of underdevelopment that has held it captive for far too long.

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“No external power will deliver us from the scourge of economic hardship and stagnation. It is only through our collective effort and determination that we can propel our nation forward.

“We must build inner strength to find this collective resolve across the length and breadth of our great nation. This is our civic responsibility—one we must embrace with unwavering determination.
“We call on the government at all levels to ensure that governance translates into real benefits for the people. The welfare of the citizens remains the primary justification for the existence of any government.

“Access to food and nutrition, better healthcare, quality housing, education, transportation and greater security of lives and properties, including the right to participate in decisions on how they are ruled, are the key expectations of the people and workers.

“Policies must, therefore, reflect transparency, honesty, and inclusivity, devoid of chicanery, nepotism, and strong-arm tactics.

“To create a thriving, democratic nation, we need a system built on the tenets of social dialogue, allowing critical stakeholders to participate actively in nation-building. Such inclusiveness will foster deeper ownership of government policies, ensuring stability and sustainability.

“It is on this premise that we once again call on the federal government to withdraw its present tax bills before the National Assembly so that all key national stakeholders will be part of the process.
‘’As we embark on a national dialogue in Ibadan in January, 2025, we want to join hands in co-creating a new national tax law that would enjoy wider acceptance and fulfill its purpose of propelling national development which we believe is the main objective of government.

“As we move into 2025, we urge the federal government to prioritize industrial peace by taking social dialogue seriously, pursuing pro-human-progress policies, and respecting agreements with trade unions.

NLC insists on withdrawal of Tax Reform Bills

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Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue

Published

1 hour ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike

Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike has vowed that he will continue his demolition of shanties, illegal buildings and enforcement of payment of ground rent in the territory in the new year without bothering about what anybody will say.

Speaking after he inspected the ongoing construction Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX), Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal and Saburi – Dei Dei road, in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike said he will not be distracted by the controversies that have trailed his ongoing demolition of structures in the FCT.

“Nothing distracts me. I am very focused,” Wike replied when asked by journalists whether the outcries over ongoing demolition and enforcement of ground rent may cause a huge distraction in 2025.

“Even if people are complaining, it is part of governance. You don’t expect that you will superintend over the affairs of people and then you satisfy everybody.

“People must complain, but I can tell you such complaints cannot distract us. I am very focused, and since it is part of our job, we will continue to do what is necessary.

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“Forget about what people say about demolition, demolition must go ahead. We demolish shanties, we demolish illegal buildings. It doesn’t matter what anybody will say.

“At the end of the day, they will still come back to say, ‘you did a good job.’

“So, don’t bother about what people say, be focused and at the end of the day, you will achieve results for a greater number of people, not for a few individuals,” Wike added.

The Minister however said the FCT Administration will do more for the residents of the capital city in 2025.

According to him, things will get better, God willing, for residents of FCT in the coming year.

“All we still require is the support of residents; of business owners, so that we can achieve more than what we have achieved in 2024.

“So, I pray that God Almighty will continue to protect us and give us better security as we experienced in 2024.

“Everybody can see, even within this festive period, security is quite intact, and we believe in 2025, we will get a better Abuja,” he said.

Wike: Demolition of illegal buildings, shanties in FCT to continue

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Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack

Published

2 hours ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

It took authorities more than a week to identify the victim of the 22 December incident

Police identify woman set on fire in deadly New York City attack

Police in New York City have named a woman who was set on fire and burned to death last week on a subway train in Brooklyn.

Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, has been identified as the victim of the seemingly random 22 December attack that burned her body beyond recognition.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, is accused of starting the blaze with a lighter while Ms Kawam was asleep. He allegedly fanned the flames with a shirt and then watched the fire grow from a bench outside the subway car.

Last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Zapeta, who claims to have no memory of the incident, on four counts of murder and one count of arson.

Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, said the death was ruled a homicide and caused by “thermal and inhalational injuries”. She made the identification public on Tuesday.

“The identity was confirmed by the medical examiner yesterday through fingerprint analysis, following a multi-agency effort with our partners in law enforcement,” she said.

It took authorities more than a week to identify Ms Kawam’s body.

At a press conference on Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that Ms Kawam had recently spent time at a city homeless shelter.

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“It really reinforces what I’ve been saying, people should not be living on our subway system, they should be in a place of care. And no matter where she lived, that should not have happened,” he said.

Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, said at a press conference early in the investigation that authorities had worked to collect DNA evidence and fingerprints from Ms Kawam’s remains.

“It’s a priority for me, for my office, for the police department to identify this woman, so we can notify her family,” Mr Gonzalez said.

False and unverified information about her, including a fake AI-generated picture, had circulated online in the aftermath of the attack.

There was also an outpouring of support, including a vigil held for the then-unidentified victim last week.

Police say that Ms Kawam was motionless, apparently asleep, on a stationary subway train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue Station in Brooklyn early on 22 December when Mr Zapeta allegedly approached her with a lighter.

The pair never interacted, and police believe they did not know each other.

Jessica Tisch, New York’s police commissioner, said that the smell of smoke drew police officers and Metropolitan Transit Authority personnel to the fire and they extinguished the flames.

“Unbeknownst to the officers who responded, the suspect had stayed on the scene and was seated on a bench on the platform just outside the train car,” Ms Tisch said.

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Authorities declared Ms Kawam dead at the scene.

Ms Tisch described the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”.

In a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, prosecutor Ari Rottenberg said Mr Zapeta told investigators that he had been drinking and did not remember the incident, but did identify himself in photos and surveillance video showing the fire being lit.

The suspect, who is originally from Guatemala, was deported from the US in 2018 and later re-entered the country illegally, immigration authorities said.

He is due back in court on 7 January, prosecutors said.

Despite a decline in crime rates on New York City’s subway, the incident is one of a string of attacks that has raised concerns for riders on America’s largest mass transit system.

The subway safety issue arose again on Tuesday afternoon when someone was pushed on to the tracks in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood in front of an oncoming subway, according to New York City police.

The unidentified male victim was admitted to hospital with a head injury, authorities said. Police later detained a suspect, according to local media.