Amid protests against fee hikes at the University of Ibadan, officers of the Nigerian Army reportedly arrested and detained four individuals, identified as Aduwo Ayodele, Made Gbadegesin, Olorunfemi Adeyeye, and Nice Linus, during a demonstration on Monday.
Saving Point Media records that the detained protesters were apprehended and taken away in an Army van during the protest.
Olorunfemi Adeyeye, the National Secretary of the African Action Congress, managed to record a distressing video from inside the van, showing a man in military uniform clinging to the vehicle as it sped towards the Agodi area of Ibadan.
In a distress message sent via WhatsApp chat, Adeyeye described how UI security officers initially confronted them before calling in soldiers from Operation Burst.
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Concurrently, a student, speaking anonymously, revealed that the arrests happened during a swearing-in ceremony for the new Students’ Union executives, with protesters expressing dissent against the fee hike.
Efforts to reach Nigerian Army spokesperson Brig. General Onyema Nwachukwu and UI Dean of Students Affairs Prof Adekeye Abiona were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
The Take It Back Movement, a human rights group, condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of the protesters in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students had previously criticized the fee hike for new UI students for the 2023/2024 academic session, denouncing it as “outrageous” and imposing financial burdens on families already facing economic challenges.
According to NANS Public Relations Officer Victor Igbudu, the fee increase, ranging from N230,000 to 412,000, was deemed unacceptable.
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