NANS plans nationwide protest over ‘victimization’

In what has been tagged “National Action Day”, the National Association of the Nigerian Students (NANS) says it would embark on massive protest nationwide over students’ victimization and intimidation across the country.

The association hinged its position on the suspension of the Student Union President of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Adegboye Emmanuel Olatunji.

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Reacting, the Rector described the allegation levelled against him and the institution by the NANS as “baseless and unfounded.”

Daily Trust recalled that Olatunji who was arrested on February 9, alongside Olarewaju Taiwo, for alleged cultism, was subsequently arraigned before the court.

And last week, Olatunji posted a suicide note on his Facebook page alleging neglect by “everyone” over his travail.

Addressing newsmen in Abeokuta on Sunday, the NANS Vice Chairman, Ojo Raymond disclosed that a fact-finding committee set up by the students’ body had revealed that the embattled union leader was being victimized by the institution.

Raymond said the students’ body was not “unaware of the antics of the majority of our institutions’ administrators in using the instruments of blackmail, victimization and of course intimidation to destabilize unionism in most of our campuses with pronounced aimed of making the Union stooges in their hand.”

He said the National Executive Council of NANS had directed all Students Union Government in every state of the Federation to organise a mass protest against victimization of Students leaders preparatory to the National Day of Action to be held in Ogun State.

He said, “the National Executive Council of NANS has approved the proposal of a National day of Action against victimization and intimidation of Students Union leaders by Institutions management.

“In this direction, the NANS National Secretariat has directed all Students Union Government in every state in the Federation to organise a mass protest against Victimization of our Students leader in their respective State before the National Day of Action to be held in Ogun State.

“As students leaders, we will continue to resist any attempt or calculated attempts to destabilize Students Unionism in Nigeria as we will continue to defend the interests of our Students at all times in all fronts. We will equally fight this deliberate effort to destroy our Comrade as we have been able to ascertain in our fact-findings”, he said.