The management of Lagos State University (LASU), has dismissed and described as fallacies the reports making rounds on the internet that popular Nigerian dancer, Poco Lee, music artist, Bella Shmurda and other celebrities were attacked during the dancer’s homecoming musical concert at the university.
According to reports circulating on the internet, some cultists known as “Ojo boys” were alleged to have entered the Main Auditorium of the Ojo Campus on Thursday, where the event was taking place, with pistols and other weapons, which led to the disruption of the event.
Reacting to the alleged attack, the university, through a press release signed by the university’s coordinator of the Center for Information and Public Relations, Thomas-Onashile Oluwayemisi, said that the report of the alleged cult attacks was nothing but lies and fallacies.
While debunking the alleged attacks, the management stated categorically that there was no form of attack on either Poco Lee or any other artists who graced the event.
The management added that the uproar that occurred towards the end of the event was a result of the excitement of the students who got carried away by seeing their favorite artists performing live at their institution.
Emphasizing the institution’s zero tolerance for cultism, the management said that no single case of cult-related incidents has been reported in the institution for several years.
The statement reads in full: “The Management of Lagos State University has observed with deep regret the embellished social media portrayal of the pockets of altercations that greeted a musical show headlined by popular dancer, Poco Lee, and Musician, Bella Shmurda, tagged “Party with Poco Lee (Homecoming Concert)”. While we condemn in totality the unfortunate incident, we have observed the twisted narrative that is beginning to be manufactured by malicious, and in some cases, ignorant individuals, which warrants that we provide the correct perspective.
“For the records, we wish to debunk claims of physical attacks on either the artists who came to perform or students by cultists being spread about. We state unequivocally that at no point was Bella Shmurda or Polo Lee or any other artist attacked. Bella himself has validated this on his social media channels. While there were indeed pockets of squabbles among revelers as to be expected in such a show, reports of fights breaking out or cult clashes are nothing but fallacies.
“We also wish to state for the records that the uproar that greeted the event towards its tail end was caused largely by reactions of excited students at having one of their own perform live for them on their campus. This is coupled with the issue of crowd control resulting from poor logistics and planning by the organizers, an independent entertainment outfit.
“From credible reports, the organizers of the show had sold tickets online with instructions for the attendees to obtain their tickets physically at the venue of the show. However, the crowd of students at the venue was beyond the provision of tickets made by the organizers leaving the men of the LASU security team to swiftly act to manage the situation with the support of men from other security agencies who had been invited before the show.
“Furthermore, even though the crowd was well controlled, the sighting of some of their own who have become celebrities did cause excitement from the students resulting in rowdiness. Seeing that some criminal elements were going to take advantage of the situation to perpetuate their evil intentions, the Security Team swiftly brought the show to an abrupt end and dispersed the crowd around 5:30 pm. Indeed, the event ended with no single record of cult attacks as purported.
“The General Public is therefore urged to be wary of the falsehood being orchestrated against the name of the University at this time when the institution is being celebrated nationally and internationally over her recent exploits.
“LASU has zero tolerance for cultism, which is evident in the fact that there have been zero reports of incidents of cult activities in the University for several years now. We thank all those who have expressed concerns over the incident and assure that the security of the lives and properties of our students and staff will continue to be paramount to the management of the University. We are LASU, we are great.”
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