During a tense situation at the University of Ibadan, the Nigerian Army has reportedly taken into custody four individuals during a protest against increased fees.
As reported by PUNCH Online, the arrested protesters, known as Aduwo Ayodele, Made Gbadegesin, Olorunfemi Adeyeye, and Nice Linus, were captured and placed into an Army vehicle during a demonstration on Monday.
Adeyeye, the National Secretary of the African Action Congress, was able to capture a distressing video while inside the vehicle. The footage shows a man in military clothing holding onto the vehicle as it speeds towards the Agodi area of Ibadan.
Adeyeye, in a distressed message sent via WhatsApp, stated, “UI security officers swooped on us as I joined UI students to raise placards. They dragged us, beat us, and then called soldiers from Operation Burst.”
A student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, revealed that the arrests took place simultaneously with a swearing-in ceremony for the new Students’ Union executives, with protesters expressing their opposition to the fee increase.
At the time of press, attempts to contact the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Brig. General Onyema Nwachukwu, and the UI Dean of Students Affairs, Prof Adekeye Abiona, were unsuccessful.
The Take It Back Movement, a human rights group, expressed strong disapproval and called for the release of the protesters. In a post on X, it stated, “Here is @activistfemi being transported to an unknown location by @HQNigerianArmy officers. He was arrested by operation burst during an ongoing protest around the University of Ibadan. We condemn this as despicable, and demand his immediate release.”
Back in April, the National Association of Nigerian Students denounced the “outrageous” increase in fees for new UI students, pointing out the financial strain it would place on families already facing economic challenges.
Victor Igbudu, the NANS Public Relations Officer, stated that the fee hike for the 2023/2024 academic session, ranging from N230,000 to 412,000, was considered unacceptable.
