By JKNewsMedia
THE SUSPENSION of University of Ibadan (UI) student activists, Ayodele Aduwo and Mide Gbadegesin, has been nullified by the Federal High Court in Ibadan on Wednesday.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) commended the ruling and is also calling for their immediate reinstatement with apology.
On Wednesday, CAPPA thanked the judiciary for nullifying the rustication of Ayodele Aduwo and Mide Gbadegesin and also addressed the continued victimisation of Nice Linus, who displayed placards reading “No To Fee Hike” during a student gathering last year.
In a statement signed by Robert Egbe, Media & Communications Officer, CAPPA further called on the university to comply with the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Ibadan, reinstate the affected students, and issue a full and unreserved apology to them for its conduct.
It stated that the ruling affirms students’ constitutional rights to freedom of thought and expression as guaranteed under Sections 38 and 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
Justice N. E. Maha, who delivered the judgment, cited testimony from the students that they were dragged out of a hall by the university’s internal security and handed over to a mob that beat and insulted them.
Also, the court noted that the trio were profiled as criminals and later handed to soldiers of the Operation Bust unit as dangerous cultists.
The judge further noted that the university authorities did not deny the allegations.
“The court’s decision sends an unequivocal message to the University of Ibadan and other oppressive academic institutions nationwide that tyranny and the use of authoritarian tactics to stifle legitimate dissent is unlawful, unacceptable and will not stand,” said Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Executive Director of CAPPA.
“The university must reflect on this moment and recommit to their core mandate of fostering critical thinking and nurturing independent minds,” he added.
CAPPA stated that the incident began on May 13, 2024, when the students displayed placards reading “No To Fee Hike” and #FEESMUSTFALL during a Students’ Union inauguration.
The trio testified that they were forcibly removed, assaulted, and subjected to a prolonged campaign of intimidation which culminated in disciplinary proceedings.
Ayodele and Gbadegesin were suspended for four semesters, while Linus, though not suspended, was denied resumption of her role as a legislator despite securing a majority mandate.
The students subsequently filed a suit challenging their suspension and alleging victimisation for exercising their right to peaceful expression, stating that the punishment was intended to silence lawful dissent.
CAPPA described the case as part of a broader pattern in academic institutions where student activism, particularly against rising fees, faces repression, adding that it commended the students for their courage and praised their legal team led by Joseph Opute Esq. alongside O. Onifade for securing the judgment.
“We are proud, not only of Ayodele, Gbadegesin and Linus, but also of our role in helping them assert and defend their rights,” CAPPA stated.
“We pledge to continue rendering support to other Nigerian students defending their constitutional rights across the country.”
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the statement added that universities should remain spaces for contesting ideas and questioning authority, warning that suspensions and intimidation undermine this role.
Ibeh described the development as a systemic attempt to shrink civic space within higher institutions. “When students are punished for peaceful protest, the message is that lawful dissent will not be tolerated.
What kind of society punishes its young people for caring enough to speak?” she said.
CAPPA also urged university authorities to treat students as stakeholders and ensure that fee policies are subjected to transparent and participatory processes.
The organisation added that chronic underfunding of education has shifted financial burdens onto students, warning that protests would persist until structural issues are addressed.
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