The students were expelled by the university over their alleged involvement in leakage of question paper meant for their final examination.
According to the reports, the affected students of the department of economics had allegedly bought the question paper from the driver of the lecturer in charge of the course.
The management of the institution was said to have launched an investigation into the development following which 13 students were found guilty and expelled with the affected members of staff recommended to the university council for sanctions.
But one of the students, Lydia Lawal, took to the social media to raise the alarm over her expulsion for an offence that he never participated in.
According to her, she was the president if the department of economics when the incident happened, saying it was on the basis of that that she was invited by the examination malpractices committee that investigated the matter.
She said, “My name is Lydia Lawal, I studied Economics at Federal University Lokoja. After 4 years of blood and sweat, my university handed me an expulsion letter unjustly. Please, I want all well-meaning Nigerians to help share my story till we get justice.
“I gained admission to the University in 2013, as an orphan I had to work in Lagos during the long vacations to pay my school fees. And from my first semester to 400 level first semester I was on second class upper with a 4 point CGPA.
“The issue that led to the expulsion of 13 students in my class started during my final exams when there was an alleged examination leakage where some students were said to have brought questions from a driver. I happened to be the departmental president at the time of the crises and I was called by my head of department to answer some questions concerning the issue which I knew nothing about
“All this happened last year we were called back in October to rewrite all our papers under 4 days with less than a week’s notice. The university management refused to release the result of the new exam, refused to convoke my department with others and didn’t mobilize us for NYSC. I was shocked that after almost 9months the university management called 13 of us which include the best student in my class with a CGPA of 4.9 to come and pick up an expulsion letter, and our names pasted all over the school as expelled students”.
However, the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Angel Freeman-Miri, said the expelled students were sent away from the school because of their involvement in examination malpractices.
She said the institution took the decision as it was not ready to compromise the standard and quality of the certificates being issued to its graduates.
According to her, the people were discovered to have been involved in the malpractices and were made to face the disciplinary committee which found them guilty of the offence.
Freeman-Miri said the Senate of the university sat on the recommendations of the committee and decided that the 13 students were expelled from the school.
The vice-chancellor, however, said the students were given the opportunity to appeal the decision of the Senate, adding that many of them had already appealed the verdict.
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