Posted by Amarachi on Tue 16th Jul, 2024 - tori.ng
Reacting through his Facebook page, Ichor Tersagh stated that the video did not cover the jokes he cracked with the young man before the incident but mischief makers captured just the video of him hitting the man.
The visiting lecturer at Benue State University (BSU) Mr Ichor Tersagh, who was seen in a video hitting a male "student" in a lecture hall, has reacted to the backlash he has been receiving over the incident.
A video of the a$$ault which occurred on Friday, July 12, went viral and elicited outrage from viewers.
Reacting through his Facebook page, Ichor Tersagh stated that the video did not cover the jokes he cracked with the young man before the incident but mischief makers captured just the video of him hitting the man.
He wrote: "I wish to make clarifications on the allegations thus:
"I had a lecture with 300 level (MCB 311 – soil microbiology) students of the University as scheduled on the time table in one of the large lecture theatres, code named TLT A.
"The challenge in lecturing in the large hall often encountered is the influx of both students and traders who have no business with the course passing through the hall for various reasons why lectures are ongoing, obstructing the lecture and distracting both the Lecturer and students.
"This scenario repeated itself and was more intense on this fateful day where I had to suspend the lecture pleaded with them to at least stop passing through the front of the class where I was with the students and use the back if what they wanted to do must be done within the period of the lecture.
"In one of the videos, the impression created by the person there was that he had some items the other side of hall to pick and not that of a student. Why preventing him to pass through the front but at least follow through the back of the hall while lectures were in progress all proved abortive.
"Jokingly, I said he is proving tough so let me give him baptism of sense with some knocks and we were laughing in the process of pushing him to use an alternative route.
"Surprisingly, the video didn’t cover a substantial part of the interaction and was muted so that the jokes, laughter will give an impression of assault as intended by the mischief makers. The identity of the person still remains covered including his Faculty, Department, level, names and no ID card on him for identification.
"The students who had business with the class were already seated for the Lecture that had lasted for over fifty minutes though with obstructions from massive influx of people passing through the hall making it difficult for a controlled class environment where smooth teaching and learning can go on.
"SECOND VIDEO
"I have interacted with the young man twice before that day. He had approached me with offers as a link to students for what the call sorting; spoke like an agent of cartel that whose trade is to collect money from students to obtain grades for willing students.
"He had waited for me the first time and walked me to the office where he explained all his deals and how to go about it claiming some students were even ready now that the semester had just commenced. I turned him down twice that he approached me with his offers.
"If the video is not muted and given background music, one could have heard our interaction cautioning him that what he wanted was impossible with me and he should stop distracting us in a class / course he has no business with and joke that ensued on baptism of sense.
"There is a cartel of persons some of whom are not students of the university with connections to social media activists advancing illegal trades of attempting to compromise Lecturers on campus.
"The boldness with which he walked to me in the middle of the lecture I felt was to prove to some of the students the unyielding attempts he has been making to get through to me. If with any form of identification, this matter would have been reported since he commenced the overtures.
"The utmost challenge is why the identity of the said person without any form of identification; Faculty, course/ Department is still not revealed to also achieve the intended mission of assault when I also jokingly gave him what I called baptism of sense, we laughed and he left. If his identity is revealed, one will ask what took him right in front of the hall when he had no business with the Lecture that was on going.
"Finally sir, the University Authority should prevent hawking in and around Lecture halls and restrict every form of trade to labor market. The use of identity cards by students should be mandatory to help security and lecturers to properly identify the students and report if a situation so demands."