By JOSEPH OBUKATA, Warri

The management of Delta School of Nursing, Warri, is currently enmeshed in extortions scandal as officials of Delta Human Rights Protection Congress (DHRPC) on Monday stormed the school premises on fact finding.

Daily Sun reports that the visit by DHRPC officials followed series of petitions alleging undue extortion of students by the school management.

Following the purported extortions scandal, officials of DHRPC, a coalition of human rights groups in the state led by its patron, Pastor Edewor Egedegbe, on Monday, met with the school’s Principal, Mr. Timothy Ogaga.

Some of the allegations levelled against the institution included: extorting money from students to fuel the school’s generating sets, keeping 12 students in a hostel room that is meant for four students. Forcing students to pay money to celebrate Valentine Day among others.

Egedegbe who spoke to newsmen shortly after the meeting with the school’s principal, said that the group would interface with the Delta Commissioner for Education and the Chairman, Delta House Committee on health over the matter.

“We are not done with our findings yet, we are coming back and also make our fact findings known to the public.

“You see that there were tendencies that could suggest that something is really fishing.

“Because we are in a government where the plight of the people does not really matter and that is why people could spewed thing they are doing now.

“For us, we have taken what we need to take but the beauty of what has happened today is that the principal granted us audience and we had a good conversation.

“However, at some point, we were disgruntled by virtue of one political office holder that called in to ensure we do not get access to the hostel any longer.

“But we have vowed to press further and get to the root of all the allegations we heard that brought us to this point of meeting,” he said.

A member of the DHRPC, Mr Kelvin Ejumudo, said that the group had several petitions against the school in its office.

“We are in a mission to liberate the oppressed from every wilderness of oppression. We have several petitions in our office against the school and we came on a fact finding mission,” he said.

Reacting to the allegations, the school principal, Ogaga, dismissed the allegations, saying “illegal fees are not collected here”.

“Our hostels accommodate six persons per room. We also have cubicles for the students to use while we are carrying out renovations.

“We do not collect illegal money from the students. They only pay N10,000 as exam fee which is
legal.

“As for Valentine, we do not collect money from the students to celebrate Valentine. I am not a kid to be celebrating Valentine. I have two children in the universities,” he said. (Daily Sun)

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