6th April, 2017
The 14 students who were detained last week for protesting against the authorities of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, have been freed.
The students, who were remanded at the Kirikiri prison on Saturday on the order of a court, arrived the mobile court in Oshodi on Thursday morning.
The students arrived in a police convoy, Thursday, chanting solidarity songs.
The 14 students were taken into custody at Kikiri Prison on Saturday, on the orders of the Special Offences Mobile Court, Oshodi, where they were arraigned by the police for “riotous invasion” of Lagos-based Television Continental, TVC, Premium Times reports.
The management of the station has since denied the allegations, saying the students were peaceful in their conduct.
They had earlier been arrested on the university campus while protesting the suspension of a visually-impaired student and demanding
the reinstatement of all suspended student activists.
The UNILAG authorities had earlier denounced the students saying some of them had been rusticated from the school while others were not students of the institution.
Several groups including the National Association of Nigerian Students and Education Rights Campaign had condemned the detention of the students.
The counsel to the students, Inibihehe Effiong, said the release was subject to Section 211 of the Nigerian constitution.
“The trumped up charges have been struck out and we salute the Lagos State Government for this,” he said.
Aina Tomi, one of the 14 students, disclosed that the students would institute a legal suit against the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni.
“We will institute legal action against the commissioner in the next couple of days”, he said.
