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The leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, South West Zone, has condemned the brutalisation of armless and innocent students under the aegis of National Association of Oyo Students (NAOS) National body in Oyo town by some operatives of ‘Operation Burst’ in Oyo.

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NANS expressed its utmost displeasure over the unprofessional conduct of the officers in a statement made available to Vreporters by its Public Relations Officer, Kazeem Olalekan Israel, on Sunday.

The students’ body called on the Governor of the state, Engr. Seyi Makinde to take punitive measures against erring officers and also demands the formation of an independent panel of enquiry to probe the occurrence and other cases of brutalization of innocent citizens by security agents in the state .

The statement reads in part;

“We find it most ridiculous to be informed of the unprofessional conduct of some of the operatives of the Oyo State Joint Security Task Force code-named Operation Burst who, yesterday, 26th of December, 2020 stormed the venue of the transition process of students.

“It is most ridiculous that, without any provocation, and, despite the fact that, even if there were any provocation, there are ways in which such provocation could have been put under control in accordance to the stipulations of the rule of law without necessarily violating the fundamental right to dignity of human persons as stated in Section 34 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). It need be properly put on record that, Operation Burst itself is a creation of the law, and, it is expected of them to act in strict adherence to the rule of law without trampling on the rights of citizens that they are meant to protect.

“We need not to over-stress the fact that the operatives of Operation Burst has nothing to do with electoral process most especially that of students. But, rather than perform the duty of maintaining law and order in Oyo town that they have been posted, some of the operatives of Operation Burst which is gradually becoming a law unto itself decided to invade the venue of an electoral process of students which had in attendance some Police officers that have been posted there from the Atiba Division of the Nigeria Police Force to maintain law and order as students casts their votes.”

NANS recalled how its raised a serious security concern five days ago, after some operatives of Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun) allegedly murdered a student in same Oyo town.

NANS urged the Governor to look into the activities of the operatives of Amotekun and to also setup a judicial panel to probe the murder of the student in bringing the killers to justice in other to serve as deterrence to others.

It added that, “as if the concern raised is not enough, some operatives of Operation Burst invaded the election venue and constituted an attempt to murder, assault and an act that occasioned bodily harm on one Ogbeni Olalekan, Excellent, a student of University of Ilorin while he was having a dialogue with another member of the electoral committee who is also a student of the University of Ilorin, Maryam Olabisi Salahudeen.

“As an association, we condemn this act in totality while prevailing on the Governor to, immediately constitute a panel that will investigate the immediate and remote cause(s) of the assault, attempt to murder and an act that occasioned bodily harm which is a gross violation of the fundamental right to dignity of human persons of Ogbeni Olalekan Excellent. We also demand that the hospital bills of the victim of assault be paid by the State Government and that the public be briefed of the action taken on the operatives that subjected our member to bodily harm.

“An injury to one is an injury to all and a threat to justice anywhere is an injustice everywhere!”

Below is the pictures of brutality by some operatives of Operation Burst in Oyo against some students under the aegis of National Association of Oyo Students as shared by a Twitter user, @omoiyakunmi1

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, South West Zone, has disagreed with its National President, Comrade Sunday Asefon, over a threat to take strategic actions against the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal Government should the duo fail to shift ground before 5th of January next year, though, the Zonal body is much concerned about the inclusion of ASUU in the threat.

The Zonal body made its stance known on the threat notice issued to ASUU by Comrade Asefon in a statement released by its spokesman, Comrade Kazeem Olalekan Israel which was made available to Vreporters on Saturday.

The statement reads:

“As a zonal body, we do not align ourselves with the statement credited to the President of the association that students shall form a resistance against ASUU if another strike is embarked upon by varsity lecturers. We make bold to assert that the statement does not reflect the position of Nigerian students of South West extraction (and nationally). The statement does not only negate the principle of solidarity but also grant permission to this irresponsible and irresponsive government to sustain the trend of not investing in the education sector.

“We believe that the NANS President must have issued the statement out of crass ignorance of the agreement that was reached between ASUU/FG before the strike was relaxed. As a zonal body, we are of the position that even if the NANS President is ignorant of the condition(s) of the agreement reached between FG/ASUU, he should have sought for it rather than denting the public image of the association by issuing a statement to threaten lecturers when, in the real sense, our threat as an association should be directed at the government that has neglected the educational sector for long.

“As a zonal body, we believe that the strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is justifiable and that we need a proper integration to foster a successful outcome and, this has been a basis for us at Zone D, on numerous occasions, establishing our position as following with close marking the demands of ASUU as the Union is one part of our academic world.”

The students’ body noted that, Nigerian students’ movement has never been neutral in a struggle for better funding of education and that the students’ body in the country has never aligned itself with members of the ruling class and, this is a legacy it is determined to sustain as a zonal body. Rather than making such a reactionary statement as issued by the President of NANS, Nigerian students have always taken the lead in the struggle for improved funding of the educational sector because students are the ones to benefit ultimately if the demands of ASUU for release of revitalisation funds and improved budgetary allocation to education are achieved which we must also champion alongside ASUU.

“As a Zonal body, we reiterate that our role as students is not and cannot be that of a neutral arbiter. Rather, as students, we are duty-bound to give solidarity to ASUU struggle against an anti-poor and anti-education Buhari capitalist government which once it is able to defeat ASUU, will waste no time in pouncing on students as the next victim in its drive to make higher education the preserve of the rich-few.

“As a zonal body, we find it nauseating that the NANS President would also subscribe to the fraudulent argument of “grass suffering as two elephants fight” which gives the erroneous impression that students are a neutral entity in a conflict over funding of education between the government and ASUU.

“In fact, the elephant in this scene is the Federal Government while both ASUU and students are the grass. We believe that our agitation as a students’ body must never be against ASUU as a body but against the Federal Government because, the responsibility of fulfilling the terms of agreement rests more on the Federal Government than ASUU. And, if not for governmental failure and renege on promises, there will be no reason for strike action by ASUU or any other Union on our campuses.

“For the sake of enlightenment, ASUU relaxed the government-caused strike based on the fact that;

1. The Federal Government offered to pay #30bn as part of one tranche of #220bn NEEDS Accessment on or before 31st January, 2021, as a sign of commitment to the MoU of 2013.
2. It was agreed that the Office of the Accountant-General Federation (OAGF) shall release #40bn on or before 31st of December, 2020, to offset part of the outstanding claims of members of all the registered Trade Unions in the Universities after each staff had provided necessary evidence of having earned the allowances. The NUC is to provide the necessary account details before this date.

“The aforementioned are just part of the conditions of the agreement reached between ASUU/FG, and, to us, we believe the two itemised conditions forms the core of the whole agreement. We believe that no sane person would think of stampeding ASUU by the time another strike action is embarked upon if the Federal Government fails to show commitment to the agreement reached with Universities lecturers. And, the NANS President must be made to realise that NO one can stop members of a Union from embarking on an industrial action in so far they are determined to push forward.”

NANS urged the government not to renege on its promise and to also show full and massive commitment to the educational sector by increasing budgetary allocation to the educational sector in meeting the 26% UNESCO recommendation.

The Oyo State Security Network Agency, Operation Amotekun, has reacted to the news making the rounds that, one of its officers killed a student of University of Ibadan, UI.

The security network made the clarification in a statement made available by its Commandant, Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd) who said that operatives only had an encounter with a three-man robbery gang, neutralised its leader and handed the two surviving members to the Atiba Police Station in Oyo town.

The statement reads;

“On Sunday 20th December, 2020, at about 0040hrs (past 12midnight), a mobile patrol team of Amotekun operatives from Oyo East and Atiba Local Government Areas ran into an illegal road block mounted around Sabo area in Oyo town, opposite old Isale Oyo Community Bank along Oyo – Ogbomosho express way.

“While the team was attempting to clear the barricade to facilitate smooth passage for interstate commercial vehicles plying the road, a group of armed men suspected to be robbers fired at the Amotekun Operatives and a gun duel ensued.

“In the process, one of the robbers nicknamed Akin Sarz was neutralized and two other gang members were arrested at the scene with a locally made pistol with cartridges

“The men of Nigerian Police from Atiba were called to the scene while Amotekun operatives handed over the two arrested armed robbers along with the corpse of Akin Sarz to men of the Atiba police.

“The Atiba Police later handed over the surviving gang members to the State CID Iyangaku for further investigation.

“Preliminary investigation conducted at Atiba Police post revealed the identity of the deceased as a student of the Federal College of Education Special (SPED), Oyo and a known cultist.

“The gang members confirmed that the deceased was their gang leader and that they have been terrorizing the general area of Afijio and Oyo Township for some time”.

The statement reads further;

“The questions to ask are as follows:
“What would a responsible student be doing with handheld gun and bullets at a barricaded spot on a major highway in Sabo Area (Atiba LG) a distance of about 10kms from Akinmorin in Afijio Local Govt. by 1 am?

“What was the so called student doing with a locally made pistol (lethal weapon) at the spot were he was shot ?

“Could it be a coincident that he was in company of two other gang members who were neither students nor family members at about 1 am without any criminal intents?

“Why did leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Oyo State hide the fact that they visited the scene of the incident on Tuesday, 22nd December 2020 at about 2 pm in company of members of Nigerian Police and DSS?

“Can NANS Oyo State deny the fact that members of the community at the scene confirmed the criminal activities of the deceased and his gang members in the area for some time?

“It is said that a responsible organization would allow itself to be used as a tool to discredit Amotekun and score cheap political points against the state government.

“It is also obvious that some persons with criminal and malicious intents who are being frustrated and denied freedom of action by Amotekun Corps are out to fight back and discredit the state government all in an attempt to gain cheap political points and misinformed the general public.

“Consequently, we will like to implore our newsmen and the Media to please always balance their stories in the future and in particular, carry out investigative journalism to unravel facts surrounding every circumstance before rushing to press.

“Anyone desirous of getting further details on the Oyo incident can visit Akinmorin Community in Afijio LG.

“Such persons can as well inquire from police whether a delegation of NANS visited the scene of crime to unravel circumstances leading to the death of the deceased student.

“The Oyo incident was purely a case of violent armed robbery involving a student and his gang members.

“The Oyo State Amotekun Corps has a duty to all persons living within its Area of Responsibility. Consequently, it would do all within its legal responsibility to protect lives n properties without prejudice to any sentiment.

“The Corps wants to assure all of its unflinching commitment to its responsibilities and the good people of Oyo State.

“We are open to transparency and objective criticism devoid of any parochial sentiment tailored towards scoring cheap political gains.”

The Nation