An atmosphere of fear has enveloped\u00a0 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, following Sunday’s kidnap of its immediate Vice chancellor, Prof. Ilochi Okafor.<\/p>\n
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Okafor was reportedly kidnapped in his home on Independence Layout, Enugu, whilst preparing to go to church.<\/p>\n
This is the first time a former VC would be kidnapped in the South east, fuelling fears in UNIZIK that the kidnap could be politically motivated.<\/p>\n
As at the time of filing this report, the suspected kidnappers had yet to contact Okafor’s family let alone make any demand.<\/p>\n
In mid-August, suspected kidnappers abducted Vice chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology Nigeria\u00a0 Prof. Cyprian Onyeji.<\/p>\n
After several days in the kidnappers’ den, and after parting with an unspecified ransom, Onyeji was released.<\/p>\n
The relationship between Okafor and the current VC, Prof. Boniface Egboka has been anything but cordial. The former appointed Egboka Deputy Vice Chancellor, later reportedly recommending him to be appointed acting Vice Chancellor.<\/p>\n
However, no sooner had Egboka become VC than their relationship broken down.<\/p>\n
Pointblanknews gathered that the relationship had frostied to a point that lecturers and non-academic staff believed to be close to Okafor have suffered victimisation.<\/p>\n
Several academic and non-academic programmes and projects initiated by Okafor have either been shut or reversed by the current VC.<\/p>\n
Sources told Pointblanknews.com that\u00a0 Egboka and his associates believe the many petitions against him at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may have been engineered by Okafor.<\/p>\n
Efforts to get Egboka comment on his alleged relationship with his predecessor yielded poor results.<\/p>\n
However, a close associate of the VC dismissed the allegations as “blatant lies” and “hare-brained efforts to give a dog a bad name.”<\/p>\n
He said: “It is wicked to seek to score cheap political points with this sad episode. We also heard the former VC was kidnapped. He is not the first to suffer such fate. It is therefore wicked to seek to lump the issues,” he declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An atmosphere of fear has enveloped\u00a0 Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, following Sunday’s kidnap of its immediate Vice chancellor, Prof. Ilochi Okafor. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Okafor…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n