UNJUSTIFIABLE
AND CONDEMNABLE
- FOR IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL REINSTATEMENT OF IBK AND OTHER VICTIMISED STUDENTS
We in the Education
Rights Campaign (ERC) strongly condemn the suspension of 4 students activists
and leaders of the students' union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, over
students' protest against power outage and poor living and learning conditions.
This latest suspension brings to 8 the total number of students activists that
have so far been victimized in the last few months.
One of those
suspended is Omole Ibukun (aka IBK). He is the National Secretary of the
Education Rights Campaign (ERC) – an organization committed to struggles for
improved funding of education and democratic management of schools.
We hereby demand
immediate and unconditional reinstatement of Omole Ibukun - the National
Secretary of Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Jacob Tosin - Vice President of
Students Union, Oluwalade Babatunde - Chairman Students' Transport Management
Committee and Udeh John, who were suspended for joining other students to protest
deleterious conditions on the campus of the university. We also demand the
recall of the 4 post-graduate students earlier suspended for peacefully
protesting against extension of their programme and increment in fees. We call
for a halt to further victimization and attacks on students democratic rights.
Freedom of expression and assembly are inalienable rights.
We appeal to the
Governing Council and the visitor to the University to call Prof. Ogunmodede to
order. This is a Vice Chancellor that has not spent up to 6 months in office
and he has already suspended a total of 8 students (4 undergraduate and 4 post
graduate) for peacefully protesting against anti-student policies. We also urge
the mass of OAU students, staff unions in the university, National Association
of Nigerian Students (NANS), trade unions and all Nigerians who hold
fundamental rights to freedom of thought and speech in high esteem to support
the demand for immediate and unconditional reinstatement of the suspended
students and improved conditions of learning and living in the university.
We reiterate our
position in the ERC that victimizing students' activists – who raise concerns
over the degeneration of academic infrastructures, quality of learning and
mismanagement of University funds - is despotic and an assault on the right to
freedom of speech and assembly.
Until the protest of
students on 6th October (almost a week after reopening of the university), the
University was in complete darkness due to power outage, making healthy living
and learning on a campus characterized by overcrowded lecture rooms and hostels
impossible. It is crucial to note that coupled with the power outage is an
embarrassing situation of bed-bug infested hostels, which these students
formally complained about before vacation, and still resumed into same few
weeks ago.
We therefore received
with shock the news that while implementing the congressional resolution of the
students' union for a lecture boycott over abject conditions of learning and
living, some activists were hounded, indiscriminately beaten and hurled into
police custody at Moore, Ile-Ife by security personnel of the University on the
order of the Vice-Chancellor. The detained students, some of whom became
victims of the new suspension order were released due to the intervention of a
lawyer employed by the leadership of the Students' Union for that purpose.
The suspension of
Omole Ibukun, Jacob Tosin, Udeh John and Oluwalade Babatunde in connection to
this matter was unjustifiable and carried out in violation of the principle of
natural justice. This is so because none of the victimized students was queried
or invited to any panel of the varsity for the purpose of responding to the
allegations levied against them by the University management. The university
has hinged their suspension on a so-called Police investigation. However, the
only shred of justification for the suspension becomes spurious given the fact
that none of the victimized students were (or have been contacted) by police
authorities concerning any investigation.
We have no doubt that
the current suspension is no more than a ploy to dissuade students from raising
concerns over their deleterious conditions of learning and living, and which is
in sync with the despotic style of the previous substantive Vice-Chancellor who
resorted to victimization of activists when questioned over the management of
billions of Naira released to the university by the federal government between
2014 and 2016. The intention of the management, beyond the trump-up charges
adduced as offenses, becomes apparent given the fact that some students of the
University's post-graduate college were similarly suspended after protesting
against policies of the university they considered inimical to their interests.
We in the ERC
reiterate that the suspension of students as response to their demands for
improved conditions on campus is unacceptable in a democratic society,
especially in a University where students are supposed to be encouraged to
think and speak critically.
Hassan Taiwo Soweto
ERC National
Coordinator
