DISTURBANCE OF PEACE ON CAMPUS BY NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN STUDENTS (NANS) JCC, SOUTH WEST ZONE

Management wishes to draw the attention of the entire University community to the disturbance of peace on campus this morning, 25 April, 2016, by NANS JCC South West Zone as a form of solidarity for one Mr. Tunji Epeti Michael, of the Department of Petroleum Engineering, who was rusticated for a semester by the Student Disciplinary Committee with effect from 30 March, 2016. Being on an IT programme in Port Harcourt and not supposed to be on campus, he was found guilty of leading a protest on Thursday, 19 November, 2015 in respect of electricity failure, which disrupted the peace enjoyed in Independence Hall and the University as a whole. The letter, which conveyed the decision to rusticate him for one semester, did mention the due process of appeal, namely: to appeal against the decision through the Registrar to the University Governing Council within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the letter.

Rather than follow this laid down procedure, NANS JCC, South West Zone claimed that it gave the University of Ibadan authorities an ultimatum to rescind the decision. NANS activists from different higher institutions, including Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, two former student union Presidents of the University of Ibadan and the new President NANS JCC South West Zone, forced their way into the campus in several buses. They blocked roads in front of the Students' Union building, Sultan Bello Hall and much later the University Gate. They also visited the Faculties of Science, the Social Sciences, Law, Education and the Department of Human Nutrition and disrupted/paralysed academic activities there. Management hereby appeals for calm, as appropriate steps are being taken to put the situation under control. SIGNED MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN