Students of the Ekiti State University in Ado Ekiti
on Wednesday trooped to the streets to protest against alleged harassment and arrest
of colleagues by operatives of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They appealed to the EFCC acting Chairman, Ibrahim
Magu, to rein on his men by ordering them to stop harassing innocent students
under the guise of being suspected in involving inn cybercrime, locally known
as 'Yahoo'.
Few weeks ago, over 40 youths, some of whom were
students of higher institutions, were arrested in Ado Ekiti by EFCC and taken
to Ibadan, Oyo State, for alleged internet fraud.
However, the students’ protest affected academic
activities, as most of the lecturers and other staff could not access the
campus as the students took over and occupied Ado-Ifaki dual carriage way for
over two hours.
They blocked the highway thereby causing traffic jam
resulting in long queues of vehicles along that route.
Those travelling outside the state capital and
those coming in had to take a detour to their respective destinations.
The protest began at about 8.15a.m. and lasted till
11.12 a.m. yesterday.
Addressing the students, the Director of Welfare,
EKSU Students' Union Government, Temitope Aladejare, revealed that four of his
colleagues were arrested by some policemen yesterday.
"They just came into the hostel in front of
the school main gate and arrested four of our colleagues. Two of the victims
were even naked in their rooms when they pounced on them.
"When they camein, they introduced themselves
as operatives of the EFCC and forcefully bundled the victims into a van and
took them to an unknown destination.
"We are therefore calling on the authorities
of the commission to call them (the operatives) to order," he said.
When contacted for comment over the protest, the
EKSU Public Relations Officer, Mr. Bode Olofinmuagun, said he was not on campus
and that he didn't have first-hand information about the arrest and the protest
staged by the students.
But the Police Public Relations Officer, Rkiyi
Command, DSP Caleb Ikechukwu, said he could confirm that arrest were made,
which triggered the students’ protest.
Ikechukwu added that the police swiftly swung into
action to restore orderliness by ensuring the removal of all blockages on the highway
for smooth human and vehicular movements.
"I can confirm to you that there was arrest.
But the police will continue to be an effective security organisation that would
continually work for the peace of our society.
"The students protested and they blocked the
major highway and prevented commuters from moving in and out of the state
capital; this we will never condone because that road is not within the confine
of the university.
"They obstructed vehicular movements for hours,
but we have been able to remove those blockages and restored peace and order
around the school area," he said.
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