AN UNFORTUNATE HUNT FOR A DETTY DECEMBER

 By Vivian Nnagboro

This year has been quite stressful and trying for everyone especially students and this has increased yearning for the Christmas break. The anticipation of the break also comes with a certain pressure or expectation to want to make the best out of it. People start to act or put themselves in risky situations, without thinking of the consequences, just so that they can meet up with this pressure. The desire to have a “Detty” December becomes so strong, and desperation sets in. sometimes, people will give into this desperation, mostly because they lack self-control. It might be what led the suspect to carry out his heist.

It’s a quiet Thursday evening, the very first day of December, at the faculty of the social sciences. Most students have departed from their classes to their hostels and other places of abode. Leaving only a few students still attending their GES classes and those waiting for their friends. An unidentified male took it as an opportunity to carry out a solo heist and unfortunately for him, luck was not on his side.

The unfortunate victim of this heist was the cybercafe operative at the wooden lounge of the faculty, who had his laptop snatched. FATSSA press was not able to get in contact with him for his side of the story, but we were able to obtain eyewitness reports from 3 different individuals. One of them being a key witness to the altercation.

According to the key eyewitness — whose identity has been withheld— who was present at the wooden lounge around the time the theft took place. He was there with his friend when the café man approached him and asked him to watch the windows of the cafeteria in case a person jumps out of it because the cafeteria doors were already locked. They were still confused about what was happening when the café man left to enter the cafeteria through the LLT. A woman approached them and explained that the café man’s laptop had just been stolen. They then spotted the suspect walking around in the cafeteria before he entered the toilet in the cafeteria. The café man met the suspect in the toilet and his excuse for being in the dark toilet was that he wanted to use the toilet and then read even though he wasn’t holding any books. A struggle of words ensued between the café man and the barefooted suspect for some minutes. The suspect punched the café man, which led to them getting into a fistfight and that was when the witness realized the situation was getting serious.

He claimed to be scared for both of them because they were fighting on the top of the stairs and that put them in a precarious situation. The woman who had informed them about what was going on told his friend to run and get help. The witness decided to call the former AGS Mr. Olumide to know what to do and was advised to alert any security personnel or porter close by. He saw Mr. Chidi a fellow course mate and told him about what was going on and any other person he came across. The friend who had gone to get help then returned with security personnel and a porter. They got a hold of the suspect who continued to struggle while they dragged him out. At that point, the GES classes ended and then a crowd started to form around the scene. The security present started to question the suspect. When asked if he was a student, he said yes and when asked to identify his faculty and department, he replied that he was a student of the faculty from the department of Social Works. He was also unable to provide an ID or any form of identification to prove his status as a student. He was later taken away by the security team of the University. The key eyewitness also chose to keep the identity of his friend anonymous.

According to another witness Mr. Chidiebere a 200-level student of sociology, who was taking his GES class and witnessed part of the altercation when he stepped out to use the toilet. He was on his way back to the class when he heard that there was a thief in the cafeteria passage that leads to the Large Lecture Theater, then he saw the café man panting and that was when he realized that the situation was serious. He heard that the suspect was hiding inside the cafeteria and so, he decided to go and help the café man. He helped in searching for the suspect and found him hiding in one of the toilets in the cafeteria. He then advised the suspect to just come out and surrender but he refused so he dragged the suspect out and then some officials came and took over. Mr. Chidi was not able to get the identity of the suspect, but he feels that the suspect is not a student of UI.

According to another witness Mr. Cephas a 200-level student of sociology, who was also taking his GES classes at the time of the altercation. He heard a noise when he was in class and thought that a fight was going on. He decided to step out to check what was happening and witnessed a struggle between the café man and the suspect. He saw that there was a heated exchange of words between the café man and the suspect until the school security came to intervene. He also said that the suspect gave incoherent details about himself.

As of now, there is no further information about the case, but the café man has since continued operation at the faculty. We are in a very delicate period, and I urge all FATSSSAites to resist the urge to give in to the pressures of this season. We should also keep our properties well and endeavour to report any suspicious activities to the proper authorities.