Soldiers Storm Scene of OAU Students’ Protest in Ile-Ife

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

No fewer than five soldiers yesterday stormed the scene of the protest embarked upon by students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, over the ongoing strike action by members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The protesters, who had staged the protest on Ife/Ilesha/Akure expressway by mounting barricades on the two lanes of the roads, were disrupted by the soldiers.

The mounted barricades close to the Oduduwa University roundabout as well as Moro end of the expressway made it difficult for motorists to maneuver the route.

At 2:45 p.m., a convoy led by soldiers ran into the protest at the Oduduwa University end of the road, but the students insisted that the convoy would not pass through but the military men forced their way through the barricades by dismantling it.

Speaking with journalists yesterday, the Nigerian Association of University Students leader (NAUS), Ayobami Eruobami, said: “The soldiers threatened to kill us for not allowing them to pass through the expressway.

“They wanted to use their gun, and that really scared some of our people at the barricades. They forced their way through the barricades but we reconvened after they left to continue the protest.”