Osogbo – Students of Osun State University, Osogbo on Thursday staged protest over the arrest of 35 colleagues by officials of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for alleged internet fraud.
Officials of EFCC stormed their various hostels off-campus in the early hours of Thursday to effect the arrest of the suspected yahoo boys.
Meanwhile, sources close to EFCC told Independent Newspaper that the commission has commenced sorting out those arrested to ascertained the real culprits.
But the student population later mobilized themselves and blocks all roads leading to the campus making burn fire to resist further arrest of more students.
The protesting students armed with stones, sticks, clubs, knives, cutlasses condemned the incessant arrests of students of the university by operatives of EFCC, SARS, and DSS.
While the protest lasted, there was no vehicular movement to and out of the campus and shunned all entreaties by the armed policemen, men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps who were drafted to maintain law and order.
It was gathered that the arrested students were taken to the Ibadan office of EFCC for further investigations.
Worried by the hard stance of protesting students, the police open tear gas to disperse the protesting students and in the process, some were wounded while attempting to escape the teargas fired by policemen.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Abiodun Ige confirmed the arrest by the EFCC and effort made by police to prevent the protest from degenerating into violent protests.
She explained that the police were forced to open teargas after all persuasive have failed.
Reacting to the protest, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor. Labo Popoola, said the protest by students of the university was unnecessary adding that only those involved in internet fraud were picked up.
He, however, warned the protesting students to desist from their action adding that any protest by the students over the arrest of those allegedly involved in internet crime, would be a misadventure.
According to him, “the management of Osun State University, Osogbo, has made it clear to our students that it will be a misadventure to protest the arrest of individuals suspected to be involved in crime. No one can stop investigations.
“The outcome of investigations will determine the next steps of the University. Significantly, the arrested students were not in our hostels. They were in private hostels outside the campus.
It would be recalled that the operatives of EFCC had in July arrested 27 ‘yahoo boys’ in Osogbo, Osun state out of which 13 of the suspects were arraigned before Justice Ayoola Emmanuel of Osogbo Federal High Court but were granted bail. Their trial was adjourned to October 2.
As at the time of filing this report, no official reaction from EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade as several calls put across to him there was no response.
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Meanwhile, Information reaching Independent Newspapers in Osogbo in the course of filing this report has revealed that some of the arrested students of Osun State University have been left off-hook.
A reliable source told Independent Newspaper that the students were released and allow to go after the officials of the EFCC have established the fact that they know nothing about the offence they were actually arrested for. The source said the affected students were asked to go after sorting of those actually arrested and those on the wanted list of the crime commission. Meanwhile, 35 students of the university were arrested this morning over internet fraud. Those arrested were immediately driven to the commission’s office in Ibadan. Students of the university however protested against the arrest saying it is becoming frequent by men of EFCC, DSS, SARS, and others.
The post Protest At Uniosun As EFCC Arrests 35 Students For Alleged Internet Fraud appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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