Tension erupted on Tuesday at the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN) Demonstration Nursery, Primary, and Secondary Schools in Aba, Abia State, following the arrest of the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) Chairman, Dr. Chidi Emenike, by police operatives.
The arrest, it was gathered, came amid a lingering dispute between the PTA and the school’s management over a recent hike in tuition and other fees, which parents described as excessive and unjustifiable.
The disagreement escalated after Emenike allegedly directed parents to assemble at the school gate with their children in protest against the new fee regime.
The demonstration reportedly caused a major gridlock along the old Aba–Umuahia highway, as no one could enter or leave the premises.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the situation grew tense until policemen from the Eastern Ngwa Division arrived and whisked the PTA chairman away.
Efforts by journalists to speak with the school’s principal and headmistress were unsuccessful, as security operatives at the gate reportedly barred access to the premises.
Reacting to the development, the Executive Director of NINLAN, Prof. Ogbonna Onuoha, denied knowledge of the arrest but accused Emenike of inciting parents and pupils to disrupt academic activities.
According to him, the management had only commenced a “fee drive” after the mid-term break and maintained that the increment was modest compared to what other private schools charge.
He advised parents unable to meet the new payment to consider transferring their wards to more affordable schools.
However, addressing parents after returning from the police station, Dr. Emenike insisted he was not arrested but merely “invited for clarification.”
“There was no arrest. People saw me leaving with the police, but it wasn’t an arrest.
I was only invited, and I went there to clear things up. As you can see, I’m here — not in handcuffs,” he said.
He reiterated that the fee increase was beyond what many parents could afford and urged the management to revert to the old rate.
Some parents, who spoke to journalists, appealed to the state government to intervene and prevent further disruption of their children’s education.
One of them, Mrs. Chioma Onwukwe, a widow, pleaded with the authorities to consider the current economic hardship. “We can’t cope with such an increase now. They should have mercy on us,” she said.
As of press time, the Abia State Ministry of Education had yet to comment on the incident.