Violence in Abeokuta as students, Police clash

Pandemonium  broke out  yesterday in  Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as  students and Police in the state clashed, leaving four people hospitalised.For photos click here

The  protest which was staged by  the students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, was for further reduction of school fees after government had reduced the fees.The students had on Thursday morning stormed the entrance of the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, protesting the reduction of school fees in all the state-owned institutions.

The situation yesterday,  however,  turned chaotic when the students attempted to block the Ibara Government Reservation road, in order to ground vehicular movement.The students in their hundreds blocked the Presidential Boulevard along Moshood Abiola Stadium, Kuto,with their school buses, causing girdlock along the ever busy road.

The development paralyzed commercial activities in the area as shop owners, commercial motorcyclists and newspaper vendors left their wares and scampered for safety.

It took the prompt intervention of combined security operatives which include the men of the Nigerian Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
An Armoured Personnel Carrier(APC) manned by mobile policemen was stationed in front of the stadium.

This action forced the Police to fire teargas to disperse the angry students from the road , the development led to the collapse of four of the students who were rushed to the state hospital where they were  revived.
In the new school fees regime, which will take effect from the 2014/2015 academic session, some students will pay 61 percent less than they are currently paying, while some others will be paying as low as N29,700.
In a statement signed by Barrister Segun Odubela, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, the government stated that medical students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), who are paying N301,610 will now be paying N176,596, a 41.4 percent reduction.

Also, students of the Faculty of Arts in the same university will be paying N81,112 instead of the current fee of N126,540, a 35.9 percent reduction.
In Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, the school fees had been reduced from N71,300 to N40,000 for Higher National Diploma (HND) while Ordinary National Diploma (OND) students will enjoy a reduction of N22,300, a reduction of between 31.1 and 9.6 percent respectively.

Students of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) will enjoy a reduction from N103,435 for the first year students to N75,000, representing 27.5 percent reduction, while returning students who are paying N93,465 will now be paying N65,000, representing 30.4 percent reduction.
Higher National Diploma (HND) students of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, who are currently paying N118,000 will now be paying N46,000, a reduction of 61 percent.

Reacting to the report  being circulated on social media that the police had  shot and killed four students, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state,  Muyiwa Adejobi said “the  police did manage the protest and were on ground with the students at the Governors Office Okemosan Abeokuta in a peaceful manner.” He said nobody was killed.