CAPPA hails judiciary for quashing UI students’ suspension, demands end to rights suppression

L-R: Aduwo, Linus and Gbadegesin in court on Wednesday

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has commended the judiciary for quashing the unlawful rustication of University of Ibadan (UI) student activists, Ayodele Aduwo and Mide Gbadegesin, and for addressing the ongoing victimisation of Nice Linus, who held placards reading “No to fee hike” during a student gathering last year.

In a statement on Wednesday, CAPPA demanded that the university immediately comply with the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Ibadan, reinstate the students, and tender a full, unreserved apology to the trio for its conduct.

According to the organisation, the judgment affirms students’ constitutional rights to freedom of thought and expression as guaranteed under Sections 38 and 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Justice N. E. Maha, who delivered the judgment, referenced the students’ testimony that they were dragged out of the hall by the university’s internal security and handed over to a waiting mob, which beat and insulted them. 

The trio were subsequently profiled as criminals and handed over to soldiers of the Operation Burst unit as suspected cultists. 

The judge noted that the university authorities “did not deny these damning allegations.”

“The court’s decision sends an unequivocal message to the University of Ibadan and other oppressive academic institutions nationwide that tyranny and the use of authoritarian tactics to stifle legitimate dissent is unlawful, unacceptable, and will not stand,” said CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh.

“The university must reflect on this moment and recommit to its core mandate of fostering critical thinking and nurturing independent minds,” she added.

According to CAPPA, the ordeal of Ayodele, Gbadegesin and Linus began on May 13, 2024, when they briefly displayed placards reading “No to fee hike” and #FEESMUSTFALL during a Students’ Union inauguration.

The organisation said the students were forcibly removed from the venue, assaulted, and, after what it described as a year-long campaign of intimidation and harassment, subjected to disciplinary proceedings that led to the suspension of Ayodele and Gbadegesin for four semesters.

While Linus was not formally suspended, CAPPA said she continued to face maltreatment, including being denied the opportunity to resume her role as a legislator on the UI Student Representative Council despite securing a majority mandate.

The students subsequently filed a suit challenging their suspension and alleging victimisation for exercising their right to peaceful expression, insisting that the punishment was intended to silence lawful dissent.

CAPPA described the development as part of a troubling pattern in academic institutions across the country, where student activism, particularly against rising fees, is increasingly met with intimidation and repression.

The group commended the trio “for their sacrifice and courage” and urged other students nationwide to draw inspiration from their victory. It also praised lead counsel, Joseph Opute, and co-counsel, O. Onifade, for their role in securing the judgment.

The organisation expressed satisfaction with its role in the case and pledged continued support for students facing similar challenges.

“We are proud, not only of Ayodele, Gbadegesin and Linus, but also of our role in helping them assert and defend their rights,” CAPPA said.

“We pledge to continue supporting Nigerian students defending their constitutional rights across the country.”

The organisation added that universities should remain spaces for debate and critical thinking, warning that repression undermines their core purpose.

“When administrations resort to suspensions, rustications and intimidation, they turn campuses into zones of fear rather than forums of debate. This is dangerous and unacceptable,” it said.

Ibeh described the situation as a systemic attempt to shrink civic space within higher institutions.

“When students are punished for peaceful protest, the message is that lawful dissent will not be tolerated. What kind of society punishes its young people for caring enough to speak?” she said.

CAPPA called on university authorities to recognise students as stakeholders and ensure that fee policies and related decisions are subjected to transparent and participatory processes that reflect socio-economic realities.

It further warned that chronic underfunding of the education sector has shifted the burden onto students.

“Until this structural issue is resolved, protests will persist, and rightly so,” the organisation added.