Union urges IGP to probe shooting of students in Ibadan

The Chairman of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Mr. Emmanuel Olufemi Oladehinde, has condemned police shooting of students of Federal College of Agriculture at Moor Plantation in Ibadan on Monday.

A student of the college and two other persons sustained bullet-wound injuries during the shooting.

But normalcy has returned to the college.

Oladehinde urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, to probe the incident.

The union leader regretted that innocent workers of another institution were hit by the bullets, saying it was inhuman for the police to use live bullets on harmless students.

He said the police had a better option to reprimand the protesting students, instead of shooting live bullets at them.

Oladehinde recalled that overzealous policemen, led by a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), allegedly ordered his arrest and four other workers of the institution, who he said were brutalised by the police while mediating.

He said: “I was on the spot. What really happened was that the students were staging a peaceful demonstration, though they blocked the road. The policemen were there. Suddenly, the police started shooting. So, the students came inside the institute. The police said they could not differentiate the workers from the students.

“So, they started firing their guns and teargas at everybody on sight. I was even arrested after I was harassed. I went to the Diviosional Police Officer (DPO) and showed him my identity as the NASU chairman of the institute. Those arrested were workers of IAR&T. The DPO said I should be arrested too.

“I was arrested and they collected my wallet. But later, they returned my wallet to me. The police even stoned me. Four of our workers were brutalised and detained. We went to the station to release them. It was the Area Commander that gave them the order that they should release our people. So, they were released.

“We took them to the hospital, and they have been discharged. But those who were shoot are still at the University College Hospital (UCH) now. The information we got was that they are about to wheel the woman that was shoot in the abdomen to the theatre.

“So, the second person, who was shot on the leg, is also there. That is the situation we found ourselves.”