A student of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, Joseph Israel, has been expelled from the school over his relationship with a former appointee of the State Governor Emmanuel Bello and what sources described as “online activities.”
This was contained in a letter dated September 20 and signed by the institution’s Deputy Registrar, Yakubu D. Fwa.
Israel, a 100 level student of the Department of Laboratory Science was expelled over alleged criticism of Governor Darius Ishaku. A peep into the students Facebook timeline shows that he is not only active but politically informed.
“The Failure to submit your filled Matriculation oath form to the office of the Register, I write to inform you of the University’s decision to withdraw provisional offer of admission into department of Laboratory Science,” the letter however reads.
The University had earlier instituted a disciplinary committee against Joseph Israel over his Facebook posts which appeared critical of Governor Darius Ishaku as well as the Vice Chancellor, Prof Victor Tenebe- of which the committee described as inciting and politically motivated.
Although Israel’s expulsion was officially predicated on his inability to attend the matriculation ceremony on June 19 and the non-return of his matriculation oath form, sources in the University insist those were smokescreens as such issues were not raised when he appeared before the disciplinary committee. Instead he was said to have been asked about his critical posts on facebook. To which he responded by asking the committee if there was any law in the university that precludes students from using social media and expressing their views on governance in the state.
The committee which could not provide an answer, we learnt, rather asked him to go until investigation was concluded.
“The letter inviting him to the committee was to fulfil all righteousness. They had made up their mind on what they wanted to do. We are not surprised at what they did,” a source told Politicos.
We also learnt that the young man is a protege of journalist and former Special Adviser to Taraba State Governor, Emmanuel Bello who resigned from the government.
