OAU Shuts Down After Protest Over Students’ Untimely Death
The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in Osun State, has shut down the academic institution “until further notice” following protests that erupted following the untimely death of 24-year-old final year student of the school, Adesina Omowumi Aishat. In a statement on Friday evening, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Abiodun Olarewaju, said the move was aimed at preventing the breakdown of order as the students, who were protesting over the death of a Year 4 student, Adesina Omowumi Aishat, blocked the Ife/Ibadan and Ife/Ede roads. He said the management ordered immediate closure of the school and asked the students to vacate their hall of residence before 12 pm on Saturday. “Therefore, having exhausted all necessary avenues to call the students to order and allow normalcy to return to the campus and its environs, the authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, have accordingly closed down the school until further notice. This is to forestall further breakdown of law and order. The swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Students’ Union members has also been suspended, the statement added. “In the meantime, the University management has put in place the machinery to unravel the circumstances surrounding the immediate and remote cause(s) of the crisis,” it said.