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 varsity 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 deplorable conduct. According to the organisation, the judgment strongly 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).
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Justice N. E. Maha, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday, referenced the students’ testimony that they were dragged out of the hall by the university’s internal security and handed them over to a waiting mob who beat them to a stupor and insulted them. The trio were then profiled on the spot as criminals and eventually handed over to soldiers of the Operation Bust unit as dangerous cultists. Importantly, 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 Zikora Ibeh, CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director. “The university must reflect on this moment and recommit to their core mandate of fostering critical thinking and nurturing independent minds.”
According to the statement, Ayodele, Gbadegesin, and Linus’ ordeal began on May 13, 2024, when they briefly and quietly displayed placards reading “No To Fee Hike”, and #FEESMUSTFALL during a Students’ Union inauguration.
The trio testified that they were forcibly removed from the venue by school authorities, physically assaulted, and – after a year-long campaign of intimidation and harassment by university authorities – were subjected to disciplinary proceedings that led to the suspension of Ayodele and Gbadegesin for four semesters. While Nice Linus was not formally suspended, she has continued to experience maltreatment, including being denied the opportunity to resume her role as a legislator on the UI Student Representative Council despite securing a majority mandate in the election.
The students filed a suit in court challenging their suspension and alleging victimisation for exercising their right to peaceful expression. Furthermore, they asserted that the punishment was intended to silence lawful dissent.
CAPPA described the situation as a troubling pattern in academic institutions across the country, whereby student activism, especially against rising school fees, is increasingly met with intimidation, suspension, and institutional repression.
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The group commended Ayodele, Gbadegesin and Linus “for their sacrifice and courage” in standing for their rights and urged other students across the country to draw inspiration from their victory. It also praised the diligence of lead counsel, Joseph Opute Esq., and his co-counsel O. Onifade, whose legal representation was central to securing the judgment.
The organisation expressed satisfaction in its role in the students’ triumph and pledged to continue to support oppressed students across the country.
“We are proud, not only of Ayodele, Gbadegesin and Linus, but also of our role in helping them assert and defend their rights. We are proud to have stood by them since their ordeal began, amplifying their voices through our advocacy and media networks, and facilitating legal services for them.” CAPPA said. “We pledge to continue rendering support to other Nigerian students defending their constitutional rights across the country.”
According to the CAPPA, “universities should be spaces where ideas are contested, where authority is questioned, and where future leaders are trained not just to comply, but to think critically and act courageously. 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.”
Ibeh described the issue as a systemic attempt to shrink civic space within Nigerian 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 added.
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Calling on university authorities to recognise students as stakeholders rather than adversaries, CAPPA demanded that fee policies and other developments affecting students be subjected to transparent, participatory processes that consider the socio-economic realities of students and their families.
“Chronic underfunding of the education sector has shifted the burden onto vulnerable students, creating a system where access is increasingly determined by wealth rather than merit. Until this structural issue is resolved, protests will persist, and rightly so,” CAPPA added.