ASUU condemns assault on employee by UNILORIN authorities

Posted by admin Education, Headlines Saturday, April 16th, 2011

The Ilorin, Kwara State zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has condemned the assault allegedly carried out on one of its members, Mr. Suraju Ogedengbe, by the authorities of the University of Ilorin, last Wednesday.

The coordinator of ASUU in the zone, Dr. Pius Enikanselu, in a statement in Akure on Thursday, said Ogedengbe was beaten up by the security officers in the vice-chancellor’s office when he went there to deliver a mail from the secretariat.

Enikanselu said Ogedengbe, a young graduate, had been working at the secretariat of the UNILORIN branch of ASUU for a while and had been delivering mails to the offices of the principal officers of the university.

He said the young man had delivered copies of the letter to the legal unit of the university, and in the registrar’s office before he proceeded to the VC’s office to drop the original copy.

Enikanselu said, “It was here (VC’s office) that he was man-handled and bundled to the security unit where he was locked up for about six hours.

“He was disallowed to make any contact with his relations or employers. His bag was ransacked and he was dispossessed of his cell-phone and other materials. He was deprived of food throughout the period of his incarceration.

“Eventually, he was dumped at the Divisional Police Station at Tanke, where he was further locked up without any charge.

“All efforts to get Ogedengbe released from the police cell proved abortive until about 11 pm when the university sent an operative to go and release him, apparently satisfied that enough torture had been inflicted on him.

“Up till now, no offence has been stated against Ogedengbe. He was merely brutalised using raw power and access to instruments of coercion.”

He explained that the letter, which Ogedengbe went to deliver at the VC’s office, merely raised some welfare issues affecting the academic staff of the university.

ASUU, therefore, asked the authorities of the university to address the alleged brutality exhibited by the security operatives on the orders of some powers that be with a view to preventing future occurrences.

-Punchwp_posts