Lagos State University students yesterday barricaded the
office of governor Babatunde Fashola in Alausa, with the Students’ Union,
LASUSU, saying it would continue its
protest over hike in fees until the state government reduced them. The
barricade came barely 24 hours after
eight of the protesting students were arraigned before an Ikeja chief
magistrate’s court for alleged breach of public peace.
The students in a protest march arrived at Alausa
Secretariat, Ikeja at about 3:00 pm and immediately barricaded the entrance to
the governor’s office with two Bus Rapid Transit, BRT buses and other vehicles.
After barricading the entrance, they danced and set up
traditional cooking stove where they cooked beans for themselves. They also
observed Muslim prayers at the entrance.
Vanguard observed that the arrival of the students to the
seat of power send jitters down the spine of the private security officers
attached to the Lagos State House of Assembly and they shut the entrance gate
to the legislative house.
Also, police officers attached to the Area F police
command and Alausa police stations were quickly drafted to the scene to
forestall any damage to government’s property.
The union President, Nurudeen Yusuf, said that peaceful
protest was a citizen’s right as enshrined in the constitution.
Scores of LASU students, had on Tuesday protested,
carrying placards around Ikeja-Along Bus Stop through Computer Village to
Oshodi over the fee hike.
The protest later turned violent at Bolade area of Oshodi
when policemen intercepted the students, firing tear gas and gun shots into the
air to disperse the protesters.
Sixteen students were arrested and 10 hospitalised, while
five vehicles belonging to the union were seized.
Eight of the students were on Wednesday arraigned before
an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court charged with disturbance of public peace.
Yusuf condemned the attack by the policemen, adding that
the action was unconstitutional and an abuse of power.
“We are students and Nigerian citizens and as enshrined
in the 1999 constitution, we have freedom of expression and the right to
protest,” he said.
The union leader said that the students were not engaged
in violence on Tuesday but only carried placards and chanted solidarity songs
to sensitise the government about their plight.“We started the protest from
LASU gate with five police vans following us all through until we got to
Bolade, Oshodi, when it seemed the police received an order to disperse us.
“We did not vandalise any public property as claimed,” he
said.
Yusuf urged Governor Fashola to meet the demand of the
students and reduce the tuition fee, as they would not relent in their
struggle.
LASU had on April 24 submitted a proposal of N46,500 for
returning students and N65,500 for fresh students as the new tuition fees. This
is against the current charge of N197,000 and N350,000 respectively for medical
students.
The proposal followed the directives of Governor Fashola
in a meeting with the students on March 31, to come up with a proposal of how
much they can afford.
The ad-hoc committee constituted by the State Executive
Council on review of LASU tuition, under the chairmanship of the Commissioner
of Transport, Mr Kayode Opeifa, invited the students union for a meeting on May
27.
The committee, however, said that quality education could
not be sustained with the fees proposed by the students.
-Vanguard
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