The management of the Federal Polytechnic Ede in Osun State has announced the expulsion of 27 students for their alleged role in a campus protest that resulted in property vandalism.
It was previously reported that some polytechnic students, outraged by the arrest of some of their colleagues in Owode, a community near Ede, by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission operatives during a night raid, stormed the institution’s campus and staged a violent protest on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
During the incident, protesters assaulted the polytechnic’s Staff Club and damaged several vehicles.
When contacted for comment following the protest, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Sola Lawal, stated that management would investigate and determine the remote and immediate cause of the incident.
Lawal revealed the investigation’s findings in a statement issued in Osogbo on Tuesday, saying that in addition to 27 expelled students, two ex-student union leaders were forbidden from attending the polytechnic campus, and eight students were suspended for two academic sessions.
Lawal’s statement read, “Gentlemen of the press, you would recall that the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede Osun State constituted an investigation committee to unravel the miseries surrounding the Student’s crisis/rampage of Thursday, May 9th, 2024, which resulted in the stoning of people at the senior staff club.”
“The unprovoked attitude led to the vandalisation of individual and institution’s properties. This unwarranted action negates the motto of the great citadel which is “knowledge, skill and character, which the institution is known for.
“After a painstaking and thorough investigation, the following decisions were arrived at:
“Expelled students -27, (HND 1 & 2), suspended students for two (2) academic sessions -eight (8), (HND 2). Two (2) former student union leaders were banned from entering the campus with immediate effect.”