N3.8m: OAU student union member seeks justice over assault

MISS Oluwatosin Jacob, a final year Law student at the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, is seeking for justice from the institution’s authorities over what she described as an assault from a SUG executive during the Union’s meeting.
She narrated how she was beaten up by Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, the Director of Socials of SUG when she disagreed with them on whether or not certain amount of money should be given to students from the N3.8 million in union’s account.
The fracas had since snowballed into her being suspended by the institution’s authorities which described as unfair.
She said, “I am just calling for justice because at the end of the day I was assaulted and battered, and my name was being tarnished. I was just speaking for the students because ordinarily it was wrong for us to have collected money from them and not offer them the packages they are entitled to.”
Miss Jacob alleged that trouble started when the SUG President and some members of the Central Executive Council of the union during a meeting attempted to misappropriate N3.8 million subventions released to the union. The VP, who stated this in an interview with
Vanguard Learning , noted that she was brutally attacked for opposing the idea to misappropriate the subvention. She stated that the subvention was meant to be used to get freshmen packages which students are entitled to.
She said. “The semester was almost over because students were about taking their last papers and they were not given their precious package and they paid N300 for it in their school fees. So it is something they have paid for and they should be given.
“It is constitutional and conventional that every administration will give packages to the freshmen, but it was not accepted. They had already concluded what they wanted to do with the money. They were not interested in whatsoever the constitution says.
She added: “It is in their view that anything they are discussing I would be party to and I don’t want to be a party to such, so when they restricted me out of the main building, I was rushed down to the health centre. From the school health centre, I was referred to the 7th day Adventist and I spent seven days there, did three x-rays on my arm, skull and chest.”
She said the school administration was aware of the rift between the union members and the school management suspended her and the DOS indefinitely, adding that an investigative panel headed by the Vice Chancellor has been set up to look into the issue.
When the Director of Socials, Mr Emmanuel Adebayo was contacted on phone for his views, he simply said, he will not say anything, ‘’I have been advised not to speak to the press, the school is doing something about the situation.
Also, when the Dean of Students, Professor Aransi was contacted, he simply said he was in a meeting.