ERC Welcomes the Supreme Court
Judgment
Press
Statement
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) welcomes the
judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered by Justice Mary Odili which
on July 11, 2014 ordered the management of University of Ilorin to forthwith
release the final statement of results of Comrade Lanre Akinola and pay him
damages as awarded by the lower courts.
The university challenged the June 8 2007 ruling
of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin which had upheld the judgment of the Federal
High Court Ilorin delivered by Late Justice Chukwura Nnamani
on June 21, 2006 in favour of the former student activist.
Lanre Akinola, a leading member of Democratic
Socialist Movement (DSM) and (ERC) has completed his academic program for the
award of Bachelor of Science in Statistics since 1999 but his final year results
were withheld by the management of UNILORIN for his leading role in a protest
of students for an improved welfare condition on the campus in 1998 and defence
of rights and interests of students in general
The apex court has earlier on June 6 given the
same order against the university in a related case involving Rasheedat
Adesina, a former Assistant General Secretary of the university Students’ Union and currently the Assistant
Secretary of Joint Action Front (JAF). Rasheedat has completed her studies for
the award of degree in Industrial Chemistry since 2001.
The university under the administration of Prof
Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem witnessed vicious attacks on the democratic rights of
students and staffs, especially members of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU). Most of these
attacks were challenged by the victims in courts, and university utilized the
resources of the university to purse the legal warfare against activists to the
apex court after losing at the lower courts.
We recall the victory of the 49 academics sacked
by the university at the Supreme Court. Also, one of the highlights of
administration of Prof. AbdulRaheem was the callous detention of some student
activists at Oke-Kura Prison Ilorin for about 3 months over a protest against
hike in school fees by the university in 1999.
Great commendation must be given to Messers
Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika and Adeniyi Adewumi of the law firm Citipoint Chambers
for their selfless free legal representation for the former student leaders.
Equally, strong commendation must be given to the
DSM, which Lanre Akinola belongs to and genuine progressive forces including
the ASUU who stood tenaciously in support of the formers student leaders. We of
the ERC are proud to equally share in this victory based on our consistent
campaign on behalf of these student leaders and democratic rights of education
workers and students in general.
However, there is no other time than now to build
a wider mass movement against the repression of democratic rights of students
and education workers in the wake of fresh wave of fee hike and introduction of
tuition. The ERC would play a serious role in linking fresh struggle in defence
of democratic rights of students and s breaking out on campuses nationally into
a nationwide struggle against commercialization of education and repression of
students’ rights.
HT Soweto
National Coordinator
07033697259
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