Alleged rape of corps member: 34 students expelled

Posted by admin Headlines, Osun, State News Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Osun State Government has expelled no fewer than 34 students of Ifelodun Grammar School, Kiloru over their protest against the trial of the Alowa of Ilowa, Oba Adebukola Alli. Oba Adebukola Alli is standing trial before an Osogbo High Court for alleged rape of an ex-female corps member.

The students, who were natives of Ilowa in Obokun Local Government Area, were alleged to have demonstrated at the premises of the state High Court, Osogbo at a time they were supposed to be in the school, an offence, which the state government said was against the child rights law.

Officials of the state Ministry of Women Affairs, led by the Coordinating Director, Mr. Femi Ayedun, who were on inspection visit to the school were said to have ordered the immediate expulsion of the students until they were able to get clearance from the ministry pending the determination of their offence by the ministry.

Findings revealed that officials of the ministry went to the school to find out the number of students who participated in the protest and discovered that all natives of Ilowa were absent on the day the protest was held.
It was further learnt that the ministry officials who went with the pictures of the protesting students met with the students with a view to determining the particular students who participated in the protest but the students denied knowledge of the protest.

The Principal of the school, Mr. Amos Adedeji, who had earlier been invited by the ministry and asked to submit a report on the incident told Daily Sun that officials of the state Ministry of Women Affairs instructed the students to stay off the school until they were ready to tell the truth on their alleged involvement in the protest.
The school, he said, was founded by six communities including Ilowa, Idoka, Iregun, Ibala, Idominasi and Kiloru, saying onlynatives of Ilowa were absent on the said date but denied knowledge of their involvement in the protest held at the premises of the state High Court in Osogbo.

“When officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs got to the school, they gathered all the students and found out that those who were absent from school on the day the protest was said to have been held in Osogbo were natives of Ilowa. The Ministry officials made efforts to find out whether or not the students participated in the protest. When it became obvious that the students were not ready to co-operate with them, they expelled them and asked them to bring their parents to the ministry to get clearance before they can return school.

“Right now there is no student from Ilowa in the school. We have been directed not to allow them in the classrooms until they are able to produce clearance duly stamped by the Ministry of Women Affairs,” he said.
Spokesman of Ilowa community, Mr. Ganiyu Balbalola raised the alarm on the denial of their children to formal education by the state government as a result of the expulsion of the students from school, describing the development as an infringement on the fundamental rights of the children.

He denied that the students were used for the protest held in Osogbo, saying, “the students are innocent of the offence levelled against them as they were not involved in the protest.”|
He said the children of Ilowa people who jointly owned the school were not permitted to enter into the school premises and efforts by the community to arrest the situation had not yielded any positive results.
He however appealed to the state government to allow the students to return to school in order not to miss out in their studies, saying, “the present development portends serious danger to the future of our children in Ilowa community.”

When contacted for comments, the Coordinating Director of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr. Femi Ayedun, said the government took the decision to ensure that sanity was brought into the school system
He said: “We took the decision when it became clear that the students were adamant and were not ready to say the truth as regards their participation in the protest. They all kept mute when we asked them questions on the matter. Now, they are to produce their parents and sign an undertaking that such will not repeat itself.”

-Sunwp_posts