Metro

No ID Cards, No Exams, OAU Students Ground Campus In Protest

Published

4 months ago

May 26, 2025

Some students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Monday held a peaceful protest at the main entrance to the institution over the non-issuance of identity cards to them by the management.

During the demonstrations, the protesters prevented commercial vehicles from entering the university campus, leading to traffic gridlock on Ife/Ede road.

Also, many commuters travelling along the busy Ife/Ede road when the protest was ongoing had a hectic time moving through the gridlock.

Many people having businesses on campus also had difficulty going into the institution’s premises, with the students checking all the vehicles allowed in to ensure that commercial buses did not access the premises.

Though the students did not grant an interview when approached by journalists during the protest, an open letter to OAU management, signed by the President of Greet Ife Students’ Union, Isaac Omoboriowo, and two other officials of the union, revealed the reason behind the protest.

The leadership of the body declared that the students would not sit for the second-semester examinations until their identity cards were produced and distributed.

“This is not a new issue; it is one we have persistently raised before the beginning of the first semester of this academic session. From then until now, the ninth week of the second semester, the Students’ Union has consistently engaged the university management on the failure to produce and distribute identity cards to students.

“This prolonged failure has created deep and far-reaching consequences: many students have been stopped and harassed by police and military personnel, unable to identify themselves as students because the institution has not issued ID cards. Students applying for scholarships, grants, or jobs have lost chances due to the absence of verifiable student identification,” the open letter read in parts.

Listing other negative implications of not having their ID cards, the students’ body said graduating students preparing for the NYSC are also facing uncertainty, as there was no official ID from the school.

The letter further read, “Exams are approaching, and the same students who paid for ID cards still don’t have them. Therefore, we make this clear declaration: If the university fails to issue ID cards to all students before the commencement of examinations, students will not sit for any examination.

“This is not a threat; it is a legitimate demand. It is a stand against administrative negligence. It is a call for dignity and accountability. We hereby urge the university management to immediately finalise and distribute ID cards to all students across faculties, and we will not go into the examination halls without our rightful identification as students of this great university.”

Responding, the management, in a statement signed by the Dean, Division of Student Affairs, Prof. J. Odedire, assured of the commitment of the Prof Simeone Bamire administration in ensuring that the students enjoy a conducive environment on campus.

Odedire also said during a meeting he held with the leadership of the Students’ Union, he explained the reason for the delay in the production of the ID cards.

“This unintended delay, which is attributable to the logistics of the incorporation of the smart features embedded in the I.D. card, has been addressed by the company charged with the production. The university authority is giving priority attention to ensuring that the first batch of the I.D. card is delivered latest by Wednesday (28/05/2025).

“The importance of a means of identification cannot be overemphasised, and the university administration will do all within her powers to ensure that our students’ right is not tampered with in any way,” Odedire said.
(PUNCH)

Metro

Tragedy As Traders, Ocha Brigade Clash At Onitsha Market

Published

4 hours ago

September 9, 2025

Editor

Tension gripped Onitsha on Tuesday following reports that operatives of the Anambra State government-backed OCHA Brigade allegedly opened fire at the bustling Onitsha Main Market, Emeka Offor Plaza axis, which allegedly left four people, including a pregnant woman, dead.

But the police in Anambra State, which confirmed the incident, stated that one of the female victims died on arrival at the hospital, adding that seven persons sustained injuries from the incident.

They also confirmed that the seven victims who received gunshots have been evacuated to the hospital, adding that normalcy had been restored to the market.

They identified the victims as Ebuka Orakwe (male), Orum Oluebube (male), Anthony Kosisochukwu (male), Ifeoma Ezema (female), Chinwe Igwe (female), 22 years old, and two others, whose names they could not disclose.

Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred on Tuesday morning, sparking panic and outrage among traders and residents who fled the scene for safety.

According to reports, the victims, who had merely gone out to earn their daily bread, were shot by armed men allegedly operating for the state government OCHA brigade. The reasons behind the gunfire could not be determined.

A trader had said: “This is heartbreaking. Four innocent people who left their homes this morning have been cut down in cold blood. Among them is a pregnant woman. Anambra people are now living in fear because criminals have been handed guns and uniforms in the name of government enforcement”.

However, confirming the incident, the Anambra State Police Command, in a statement by its Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that it swooped in to restore order in the troubled market after receiving a distress call.

He stated that an altercation had ensued between the personnel of the Ocha Brigade, an Anambra State Environmental Law Enforcement outfit, allegedly with some traders, during which seven traders sustained gunshot injuries. He said the incident triggered unrest within the market.

“Upon receipt of the report in early hours of today 9th September, 2025, the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu, immediately deployed tactical teams and other security agencies led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, in company of the Area Commander Onitsha, the Divisional Police Officer Main Market, and the Commander of the Anti-Cultism Squad, to the scene.

“The Operatives swiftly addressed and calmed the traders, restoring order and dispersing them back to their shops and lawful businesses. The victims of the gunshots were promptly evacuated to a hospital and were identified as Mr. Ebuka Orakwe (m), Orum Oluebube (m), Anthony Kosisochukwu (m), Ifeoma Ezema (f), Chinwe Igwe (f), 22 years, and two others, names yet to be identified.

“Regrettably, one of the female victims was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. Her body has been deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy and preservation. The other victims are currently receiving treatment, have been stabilised, and are responding positively”, Ikenga stated

He added that normalcy had since been restored in the area, while patrols and monitoring continue to ensure sustained peace.

Metro

Lifeless Body Found Inside Car at N’Assembly Complex

Published

1 day ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it has begun investigations, following the discovery of a lifeless body inside a vehicle at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

Some reports had stated that the body was that of a 55-year-old man, identified as Gaddafi Iwar, who was a construction worker, working on one of the sites within the complex. According to the reports, the vehicle had been parked in the same spot for days before the discovery of the decomposed body.

Only recently, the Police said it had launched an investigation into the suspected suicide of a 30-year-old man identified as Ik Ojo, in the Kagini–Dei-Dei area of Abuja.

The probe follows the discovery of Ojo’s today, as seen in a viral video on Saturday, with friends and neighbors stating suspicions of foul play in the situation.

In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Josephine Adeh, on Monday, the security agency said the corpse was believed to be that of a labourer found around 9 am on Sunday, September 7th, inside a red Peugeot 406, parked at a construction site within the complex.

Adeh said Officers from the National Assembly Division responded to the distress call and evacuated the body to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical staff confirmed the body was already in advanced state of decomposition.

“On September 7, 2025, at about 09:00 hours, the FCT Police Command received a distress call reporting the discovery of an unidentified male, suspected to be a labourer, found lifeless at a construction site within the National Assembly Complex.

“The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), National Assembly Division, immediately responded to the call and, upon arrival, discovered the deceased inside a red Peugeot 406 motor vehicle with registration number BWR-577 BF. The body was promptly evacuated to Asokoro General Hospital, where medical personnel confirmed that it was already in an advanced state of decomposition,” the statement partly read.

The Police Spokesperson stated that the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Ajao Adewale, had ordered a discreet probe to determine the circumstances of the incident, and that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased.

“The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, has ordered a discreet investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and directed that efforts be intensified to establish the identity of the deceased. Further updates will be communicated as the investigation progresses,” she s

Metro

JUST IN: Bandits Abduct Kwara APC Chairman’s Wife, Daughter

Published

1 day ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

Armed bandits have kidnapped the wife and daughter of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government, Kwara State.

Alhaji Muhammad Swasun’s family were abducted late Sunday night in Sakpefu community.

According to eyewitnesses, the attackers stormed the area around 11 p.m., with sporadic shootings apparently to scare off “uninvited” guests, before heading to the chairman’s residence.

The assailants reportedly forced their way inside and whisked away his wife, Hajia Fatima, and daughter, Amina.

Local vigilantes, who arrived late, were said to have mobilised in search of the victims, but no report of any rescue as at when filing this report.