GREAT IFE STUDENTS’ UNION
PRESS STATEMENT
02/12/17
BEING THE PRESS STATEMENT OF THE STUDENTS’ UNION, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE ON THE GRUESOME MURDER OF MR OMOGBORIOWO OLUFEMI AT THE NEW BUKA ON 30TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2017 .
The Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University wishes to use this medium to alert the general public on the recent happenings on campus particularly as it touches on the security of life and property of both students and staff. These current challenge of insecurity on campus as led to series of assaults, intimidation and eventual murder of one Mr Femi who came to buka to relax but met his untimely death in the hands of Neo-fascist elements who have become very emboldened by the attacks on the union by the University management and its security team hereby unleashing attack on the innocent students and visitors to the university.
THE KILLING ON 30TH NOVEMBER, 2017
On the night of Thursday, 30th November, Omogboriowo Olufemi was stabbed to death at the NEW BUKATERIA of the university by unknown persons believed to be cultist, in what has largely been regarded by both the medical team who confirmed him dead and the students who saw his lifeless body as a professional attack by persons who must be experts in the profession of killing. More troubling is the fact that the university security allowed the perceived cultist to escape without any trace despite the fact that the attack on Mr Femi threw the entire BUKA to confusion and pandemonium, despite the fact that the security department were duly informed few seconds after the attack, the assailants successfully passed through ROAD ONE GATE unquestioned! This is also very similar to the attack on innocent students allegedly proclaimed arranged by the president of the students' union subsequently impeached by the parliament and one TEDDY a perceived cultist on campus on 1st November, 2017 i.e. this same last month at the Students' Union Building (SUB). The students did not only report this incident to the university management, they also wrote a powerful petition to the Osun State police command and the intelligence community on the rising incidents of cult-like displays and gangsterism on Obafemi Awolowo University. But to our utmost shock, the university came out in an official university special release dated 5th November, 2017 that our cry about the rising presence of cult like activities is just to raise false alarm and fear in the minds of students for political gains. *(Please read the university special release on the suspension of the students' union activities). All the persons we name as being responsible for the attack on November 1 were not only allowed to continue to perpetuate their crimes, we have been seeing them walking freely on campus because they believe they are for the impeached president and so, the university will do nothing about the case of the attack launched on November 1. It is now very obvious that their belief is true. Rather than resolve the lack of security on campus and work with the students’ union, the university management has been taking actions such as the suspension of the students’ union, welding of our secretariat i.e. SUB overnight and victimization of our members without any logical reasons and intimidating union activists who dare to question any of the unjust actions of the management. According to the words of Plato "your silence is consent". We want to place on record that the Vice Chancellor and the school security department should be held responsible for both the direct and indirect support/provision of breeding space they have obviously been giving to hooliganism, cult like attacks and other criminal gangs terrorizing the lives of students on campus which has led to the painful murder of Mr Femi Omogbriowo whom according to investigation is not a student but was stabbed to death on our campus yet, perpetutor(s) not apprehended till he/they fled and escaped on a campus that has gates, security department and a CSO. It should be noted that this gory event has never happened in decades within the university based on the concerted efforts of students through the students’ union platform which usually holds aggressive campaign against cultism and other criminal activities on campus. The students’ Union maintains a tradition of zero-tolerance for cultism and cult-like activities in the university. Since the Vice Chancellor started his attack on the Union and her members, we have noticed a rising trend in cultism and cult-like activities in the university!
RESTORATION OF THE STUDENTS’ UNION AND IMMEDIATE REINSTATEMENT OF 4 SUSPENDED STUDENTS ACTIVISTS
Since the unfortunate but successful massacre and killing of our students in July 10, 1999, the Great Ife Students' Union had put powerful machinery on ground in dealing with cultism and other cult-like activities on our campus. When the union was fully on ground, the union through its internal security committee usually embarks on impromptu security search at intervals on campus and even outside the campus to make sure that cultists and other criminal elements are not allowed not only to strike but also to nip their actions in the bud even before they conceived it. This method and other various methods used by the union has been keeping the university safe from cultism and other criminal activities but since the emergence of Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede administration, things have moved from bad to worse! Not only has he been making attempts at infiltrating all unions on campus, he has also suspended the students union and her members so that he can stiffen dissenting voices on campus in preparation for his exploitative policies come next session.
In 2014, when cultists attacked students, the university administration covered the attack by whisking the perpetuators away with the aid of the university security officers. There was a similar case in 2016 which suffered similar fate in the hand of university administration, all of these condemnable actions from the management have been contributing to the encroachment of cultism on the campus and putting students and staff members' lives at risk. It is important to use this medium to call the attention of the World to the fact that the students, parents and guardians, staff and all members of the university not to hesitate in holding the university responsible for any future deaths and bodily injuries resulting from insecurity in the university. We boldly hold that these actions of the university management which icludes the suspension of union activities, victimization of students activists inter alia have been able to achieve for the vice chancellor an increase in the rate of cultism and other criminal activities on campus and even outside campus (town) where majority of the students currently reside. The recent killing of Mr Femi and the sexual harassment our female students currently face in town which was even recognized by the university in their recent security alert issued to students staying in town is a validation of the dangerous trend and strange happenings on campus that are extremely alien to our university. *(see recent security alert from university release)
We call on well meaning great Alumni body and Nigerians both home and abroad to immediately advise Professor Eyitope Ogunbodede and his management team to immediately reinstate the Students' union and 4 of her members unjustly suspended back on campus for we shall not fold our arms and allow cultists and other criminals continue to kill us through administrative ineptitude of the Vice Chancellor and most especially, the untrained, sluggish, lazy, or phlegmatic security department. We are fully aware that the peace and security we have enjoyed on campus have not been the magnanimity of the university management but the eternal vigilance of Great Ife Students and their Zero-tolerance for cultism and other cult-like activities and that of course has been the reasons behind our security on campus!  We strongly know that the only antidote to cultism, Rape and other form of criminalities on campus is a vibrant, virile and independent students’ union! These sacrosanct qualities of our union will never be surrendered to anyone under any guise.  
Kindly also note that almost 48 hours since the murder of Mr Femi Omogboriowo, no statement has come out yet from the management to condemn the attack or stated that the perpetuator of the muder was apprehended before he fled or has been apprehended after he escaped campus on the night of the atack. This again has clearly shown the value the university management places on life and property and the incompetence of the security agents/personnel on campus. History has it that on 10th July, 1999 on our campus when cultists came to Awo Hall and massacred our comrades notably our Great Ife Students' Union Sec Gen aka Afrika among others, till the cultists escaped after about 30minutes, the security personnel of the varsity whose base is about just 5minute drive to the hall under attack i.e. Awo Hall could not apprehend ANY. The attack of 30th November too which claimed the life of Mr Femi till the perpetuator left and escaped, the security personnel could not still apprehend ANY as the murderer. Then the question is Prof. Eyitope Olugbenro Ogunbodede, where lies the safety of over 35,000 students under your care?

OUR DEMANDS;
• THE UNIVERSITY SECURITY DEPARTMENT MUST PRODUCE THE IDENTITY OF THE NEO-FASCIST ELEMENTS WHO MURDERED OMOGBORIOWO OLUFEMI ON THE EVE OF 30TH NOVEMBER, 2017, AND MUST MAKE PROFILE OF ALL THE KNOWN AND PERCEIVED CULTISTS ON CAMPUS
• WE ALSO DEMAND THAT THE ENTIRE SECURITY PERSONELS WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON DUTY THE DAY MR. OMOGBORIOWO OLUFEMI WAS MURDERED MUST EXPLAIN TO THE GENERALITY OF STUDENTS THROUGH A RELEASE WHAT LED TO THE ESCAPE OF THE CRIMINALS THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY MAIN GATE WITHOUT APPREHENSION.
• WE DEMAND THAT THE UNIVERSITY VICE CHANCELLOR LIFTS HIS PROCLAIMED SUSPENSION ON GREAT IFE STUDENTS' UNION & STOPS INTERFERING AND STAMPEDING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE STUDENTS' UNION
• WE DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL REINSTATEMENT OF THE UNJUSTLY SUSPENDED (4) STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY, NAMELY OLUWALADE BABATUNDE, JACOB TOSIN EMERALD, OMOLE IBUKUN AND JOHN UDE, WHO EXERCISED THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS BY VOICING AGAINST POOR LIVING AND LEARNING CONDITIONS OF STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY.
Here are our travails & pains which we want all the good citizens of Nigeria to know as a matter of its exigency and pertinence.

"If you are silent about your pains, they'll kill you and later say you enjoyed it" - Zora Neale Hurston
We shall continue to speak.
Thank you all.
SIGNED: ACTION COMMITTEE GREAT IFE SU;
(OYEBANJO OLUWASEUN, OLONINIRAN GBENGA, BENARD SAMUEL, ADEWALE JOSEPH, AGBOGUNLERI OLUWASEUN)