Ogun State Government and the students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, on Wednesday, disagreed over an alleged attack by the students on the state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele.
While the government claimed that the deputy governor narrowly escaped an attack by the protesting students, the students, on the other hand, alleged that the deputy governor’s security detail fired shots at them during a confrontation.
The Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, disclosed in a statement that the deputy governor was on her way to represent the governor at the reception marking the 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, when the incident occurred at OPIC, Oke Ilewo.
Akinmade said, “The irate protesting MAPOLY students were armed with sticks and other dangerous projectiles. All efforts to allow the convoy pass proved abortive as immediately the students realised it was the Deputy Governor, they became even more restive and rushed to attack her convoy with the aim of demobilising it, despite her security operatives as well as other police officers on the ground persuading them to stay calm and allow the convoy pass.”
He added that the deputy governor decided to make a detour to her lodge to avoid escalating tensions.
However, he said, “Noteworthy is that there was obstruction of vehicular movement, while some of her security vehicles were damaged, and her security operatives were also hurt in the process of maintaining law and order, contrary to the news making rounds in the press.”
But the students presented a different version of events.
Speaking to journalists, the Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Ogun State, Francis Adeyanju, accused the deputy governor’s security team of firing shots at the protesting students.
Adeyanju said, “While we were around OPIC, Oke Ilewo, we saw the deputy governor’s convoy. We even thought that it was the governor who had sent her to address us, but we were wrong. This woman’s entourage intimidated us, the Nigerian students.
“They shot at us three times, and that’s why, by tomorrow, the marathon protest will continue.”
The students are protesting against an alleged hike in tuition fees and the delay in mobilising MAPOLY graduates for the National Youth Service Corps.
