By JKNewsMedia
A WAVE of condemnation has greeted the University of Ibadan following the suspension of three students who publicly opposed a dramatic increase in school fees during a campus gathering last year.
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has denounced the university’s action as a brazen act of victimisation targeting Ayodele Aduwo, Mide Gbadegesin, and Nice Linus for expressing dissent.
The disciplinary measures, imposed after a hearing on 14 July 2025, include a four-semester suspension for Aduwo and Gbadegesin.
CAPPA described the decision as the culmination of a sustained campaign of harassment waged by university authorities against student activists who have challenged rising costs and deteriorating welfare conditions on campus.
According to CAPPA, the students’ only offence was holding placards with the words “No To Fee Hike” during a peaceful assembly.
Despite strong academic records and active participation in student life, the trio have reportedly faced arrests, intimidation, and violent treatment by university security personnel.
Nice Linus, who was recently elected to the Student Representative Council, was disqualified and physically removed from the electoral venue by university officials.
The university cited her ongoing disciplinary case, a move CAPPA says violates the UI Student Union Constitution, which only bars students found guilty of gross misconduct. Linus, as of now, remains on trial and has not been convicted of any offence.
CAPPA condemned the actions as unconstitutional and authoritarian, citing Sections 38 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution which guarantee freedom of thought and expression.
It accused the university of abandoning its academic mission and instead pursuing repressive strategies to silence student advocacy.
Fee increments at the University of Ibadan, the group noted, have surged by as much as 1,000 percent in some faculties—rising from ₦69,000 to ₦412,000.
This, they argue, has put public education out of reach for many from working-class families, with some female students resorting to selling their eggs to fertility clinics as a desperate survival strategy.
CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, criticised the institution’s decision to invest in surveillance and punitive actions while ignoring the deteriorating welfare of its student body.
The group called the suspended students principled individuals embodying democratic ideals, asserting that their demand for fairness and humane education should be commended rather than punished.
The organisation is demanding the immediate reinstatement of all three students and is holding the university accountable for any further harm they may experience.
CAPPA has called on civil society, alumni, labour unions, and human rights defenders to defend the right to academic freedom and protest what it sees as an alarming erosion of civic space in Nigerian universities.
Once regarded as a cradle of intellectual leadership, the University of Ibadan is now, according to CAPPA, at risk of undermining its legacy.
The group pledged to continue supporting the affected students and to ensure their case is amplified across national and international platforms.
