Barely twenty four hours of escaping from the EFCC custody, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Professor  Olusola Oyewole has found himself in another trouble as the University was engulfed in another crisis.

The crisis which lasted for about eight hours resulted in serious injury and arrest of some of the students led to a massive demonstration by hundreds of the institution students.

The demonstration which began at about 6am at “Camp”, a suburb of Abeokuta where most of the students reside resulted in the destruction of some properties of innocent individuals, including vehicles. The church building of Divine Height Bible Church, Kotopo, Abeokuta, belonging to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole was attacked.

The church’s bus was among three other vehicles that were completely burnt down. Many other vehicles were seriously damaged.

But for the mature manner in which, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Adatan, Abeokuta, Mrs. Veronica Osakwe who led the police to quell the riot, the casualty would have been more serious.

Despite the fact that the angry students attacked and brought down a police officer and an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the DPO kept shouting at the top of her voice to her men, “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot”. The police drafted to the scene was hence forced to use only teargas.

As a self defence, the policeman teargassed the student, Taiwo Abisoye who attacked the police officer and the NSCDC official at a close range which resulted to his injury.

He was immediately rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta where he was referred to The University College Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

The riot was a response to alleged series of robbery attacks on students residing around the university community. According to the students, the robbery attacks had been consistently going on for the past six months “And nobody seems to care”.

Sources squealed to us that what triggered the riot was another robbery attack on Adejoke Hostel at Isolu community recently during which one of them was stabbed.

The demonstration began in a peaceful manner but later turned violent.

Apart from vandalizing the VC’s church building, the students carted away the church’s generator.

The Ogun State Police Command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi said that 34 of those who participated in the riot had been arrested for questioning.

Oyeyemi told journalists that the rioters burnt down the Osiele Police Post and injured the Divisional Officer who he said was on admission at an undisclosed hospital.

Oyeyemi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) disclosed that those arrested were been questioned after which those found culpable would be charged to court.

The institution’s management later issued a statement that the school had been closed for the Semesters holiday.

– Wale Adewunmi

Ogun State Correspondent