NANS Denies Attack on Ogun Deputy Governor’s Convoy, Demands Apology

The Ogun State chapter of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC) of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has vehemently denied the allegation that the convoy of the state’s Deputy Governor, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, was attacked during a peaceful protest by students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

The student union has called for an independent investigation into the matter and demanded an apology from the deputy governor for what they describe as an unjustified label of students as “hooligans.”

Addressing a press conference at the MAPOLY campus in Abeokuta on Thursday, NANS-JCC Chairman, Francis Adeyanju, refuted the claims made by the office of the deputy governor that her convoy was attacked during the protest. According to Adeyanju, the protest was peacefully organized and supervised by security personnel from the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services (DSS), whose role was to ensure the protest remained non-violent and was not hijacked by hoodlums.

Adeyanju stressed that contrary to the allegations, the students had not obstructed the deputy governor’s convoy in any way. He said that it was, in fact, the security personnel attached to the convoy who opened fire on the students, not the other way around. “Rather, it was her merciless and inhumane security details attached to her convoy who opened fire on the defenceless students,” Adeyanju said, adding that video evidence and eyewitness accounts could substantiate the students’ claims.

He further accused the deputy governor’s office of twisting the narrative, alleging that the deputy governor’s office had tried to shift the blame by portraying the students as the aggressors. Adeyanju pointed out that instead of showing empathy towards the students, who were allegedly shot at with live ammunition, the deputy governor had instead exacerbated the situation by making unfounded accusations against the students.

“We have video evidence and tell-tale signs to back our assertions. Onlookers who witnessed the event at Oke Ilewo can also testify to this. Instead of the innocent students who were shot at with live ammunition to be screaming blue murder, those responsible for the inglorious act changed the story from being the hunters to the hunted,” Adeyanju stated.

He further expressed that NANS, as representatives of the students, would continue to remain peaceful and civil in their approach to the matter, emphasizing that the students of Ogun State were neither violent nor prone to attacking any public figure, especially not a representative of the state government.

“We are serious and resolute in ensuring that justice is done in this matter and the truth is unveiled to the general public. Students in Ogun are neither hooligans nor touts who will unleash violence against anyone, let alone a constituted authority such as the deputy governor,” Adeyanju concluded.

In response to the deputy governor’s claims, NANS demanded a public apology from Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele within 24 hours, as well as a retraction of the allegations made against the student body. The union warned that failure to meet these demands would result in mass protests across Ogun State, with students from all six zones mobilizing to express their dissatisfaction with the handling of the situation.

“We hereby demand an apology from the deputy governor as well as retraction of falsehoods hewn against the NANS, by her office within 24 hours. Failure to comply with our demand will lead to a full-scale mobilization of students across the state to protest the injustice and unprovoked attacks on students during a peaceful protest,” Adeyanju stated.

The controversy has sparked tensions between the student body and the Ogun State government, with both sides digging in their heels over the incident. As the matter remains unresolved, attention is now turning to the actions the state government will take to address the students’ demands.