University of Ibadan Suspends Students For Protesting. Here’s What We Know

The University of Ibadan’s Central Students’ Disciplinary Committee has suspended two students for four semesters each over their involvement in a peaceful protest against the 2024 school fees hike, which involved raising placards to express their opposition after earlier promising not to victimize participants. 

The three students affected by the University of Ibadan’s recent rustication, Ayodele Aduwo, a 400-level undergraduate student of History; Mide Gbadegesin, a 700-level postgraduate student of African Studies; and Nice Linus were punished for their peaceful participation in a protest, not for any act of violence, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has revealed.

Aduwo and Linus had joined a peaceful demonstration tagged #FeesMustFall during the inauguration of the new Students’ Union executives. According to NANS, the protest was non-violent and constitutionally protected. Yet, before the suspension, the students were repeatedly harassed and intimidated by security operatives, often at the university’s prompting.

During the protest, operatives of Operation Burst, a state security outfit, arrested the students. However, after reviewing video evidence, the operatives admitted they had been misled by UI authorities, who claimed the protest was a violent cult clash.

In a separate incident, Aduwo was arrested by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Iyaganku, Ibadan, after he remained on campus in defiance of a school directive ordering students to vacate the premises, a directive that many students had described as abrupt and harsh.

Despite no formal charges or hearing, Linus had her position in the Students’ Union leadership unilaterally revoked by the university. She was never properly served a summons to appear before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee (SDC), raising questions about fairness and due process.

The students were later summoned to a second SDC session on Monday. Aduwo and Gbadegesin both alleged that the first session made it clear the SDC had already reached a verdict before hearing their defense, treating the hearing as a mere formality rather than a genuine inquiry.

Reaction from Student Bodies Across the Country

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Joint Campus Council, Lagos State Axis, strongly condemned the University of Ibadan for the rustication of three student activists, calling the move “a dangerous assault on democracy” and a violation of fundamental human rights.

In a statement signed by the NANS Lagos PRO, Ridwan Ajayi, and released on Monday, the student body alleged that the university’s disciplinary actions were politically motivated and designed to suppress dissent on campus.

NANS Lagos emphasized that peaceful protest is a constitutionally guaranteed human right, and punishing students for exercising that right constitutes a direct violation of both national and international human rights norms.

The association demanded the immediate reversal of the rustication, a public apology from the university’s management, and an end to what it described as “the persecution of student activists.”

Calling on other NANS chapters, student unions, and civil society allies for solidarity, NANS Lagos urged mass mobilization both online and offline in protest. It warned the UI administration that the decision would not stand, vowing to respond “with strategy, solidarity, and unshakable courage.”