News

OAU Students Arrested After Protesting Wike’s Visit, Whereabouts Unknown

Published by Tope Fakinlede on June 6th, 2025.

OAU Students Arrested After Protesting Wike’s Visit, Whereabouts Unknown

Two students from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife — Oladepo Joshua and Kelechi Ejike — staged a protest on campus during a visit by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Thursday. Since their removal from Oduduwa Hall by security personnel around 2 p.m., their current whereabouts remain unclear, sparking fears that they may have been detained.

Joshua and Ejike entered the hall during the university’s 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture, where Wike was the guest speaker, and held up placards in opposition to the controversial demolition of residential buildings in Abuja under the minister’s directive. Their chants — including “Compensations for the houses you demolished!” — drew attention to the backlash Wike has faced over the demolition campaign carried out between late 2024 and 2025.

Videos reviewed by FIJ captured the moment the students were confronted by unidentified men, who appeared to forcibly remove them from the event. Eyewitnesses have since voiced concerns that the students may have been arrested by members of a joint task force possibly made up of police, DSS operatives, and Wike’s personal security.

Speaking to FIJ, OAU spokesperson Abiodun Olanrewaju denied any knowledge of an arrest. According to him, the students were escorted out of the hall by security officials to prevent potential violence, as some attendees allegedly attempted to confront the protesters physically.

“I’m not aware of any arrest, but I do know that the students were taken out for their safety,” Olanrewaju said. “There was a situation where other students became aggressive towards them, and the security team stepped in to prevent escalation.”

He further described the incident as the actions of a “microscopic minority” trying to interrupt a programme that the larger student body was engaged in, noting that swift intervention by security personnel was necessary to

keep order.