JAILING UNILAG STUDENT

Last week, a Special Offences Mobile
Court in Oshodi , Lagos, ordered the
remand of 13 students of the
University of Lagos , Akoka , who were
arraigned before it by the police over
unlawful invasion of Television
Continental in the state.
The students were arraigned before
Chief Magistrate P .E Nwaka, who
ordered their remand at the Kirikiri
prison till April 6 , pending their bail
application, on two counts charge of
unlawful invasion and disruption of
activities, which contravene the
provisions of the 2015 Criminal Laws
of Lagos State .
According to an online platform,
Sahara Reporters, the legal manager of
TVC, Abisola Agbaje , in a press release ,
had stated that the students came into
their premises on Friday, March 31 , to
protest the alleged rustication by
UNILAG. While he said the protest was
peaceful and the students were well -
behaved and left the premises
peacefully, he noted that they (TVC )
were not responsible for their arrest .
One thing I am very sure of is that
before any student - led protest holds in
a higher institution , the Student Union
Government and the Student
Representative Council would have
been aware of the problem, which
they must have brought to the
attention of the school ’s management.
In this case, the management may have
rebuffed or threatened them with
expulsion or suspension.
Also, if the management of TVC said
the students protested peacefully, then
I see no reason why they were
arrested in the first place. Could their
arrest have been on the orders of the
school authorities ?
I am also surprised that the authorities
of UNILAG have issued a statement
denying that the arrested students
were bonafide students of the
institution. UNILAG authorities claim
that these “ students” comprised of
rusticated students and others from an
institution in Ogun State .
Nevertheless , I think the handling of
the issue has been disappointing, to
say the least , especially coming from
one of the most prestigious institutions
in Nigeria . If a student will be
rusticated or arrested any time he or
she protests against his or her school
management, then the authorities of
the school should not address its
students as the leaders of tomorrow ,
because it is clear they want to groom
leaders that cannot stand or speak for
themselves .
With the ongoing semester exams in
UNILAG, the recent incident means all
the students arrested would have
automatic carry- overs in the courses
they were supposed to write during
the exams .
A peaceful protest does not warrant
being imprisoned, that is tyranny and
should be stopped . Students should be
treated with respect, because they are
the leaders of tomorrow and their
voices should be heard.
Even if they are remanded in prison , it
is no guarantee that they won ’ t protest
or do something worse the next time.
There are several ways to reach a
truce with them other than
imprisonment.
The management of UNILAG should
clear the air on the issues surrounding
the unfortunate incident so that the
students can get back to school in time
to sit for their semester exams .