Ondo Students Protest Missing Colleague
By Peter Dada
Hundreds of students from various higher institutions in Ondo State staged a protest in Ode Irele, the headquarters of Irele Local Government Area, on Monday over the disappearance of their colleague, Gideon Akindoye.
Akindoye disappeared on Monday, June 11, 2024, after heading to his father’s farm located between Igbobini and Ode Irele communities. His whereabouts remain unknown as of the time of this report.
It was gathered that Gideon had returned home to visit his parents and went to the farm on his motorcycle to harvest cassava but never came back, leading to suspicions of a possible abduction.
The protesting students, under the banner of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), urged the state governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and state security agencies to take immediate action to locate the missing student. Holding placards with messages such as “Bring back Gideon dead or alive,” “Mr. Governor, we need your help,” and “Where is Gideon?”, they sang solidarity songs to draw attention to their cause.
During the protest, NANS Senate President, Comrade Henry Olukunomo, who suspects Gideon was kidnapped, appealed to the abductors to release him, dead or alive. He confirmed that Gideon is a legitimate 300-level Computer Engineering student at Al-Hikmah University in Kwara State, disputing reports to the contrary with sufficient documentation.
Olukunomo stated, “We are calling on those who kidnapped Comrade Gideon to release him to us, dead or alive. If he is dead, they should release his corpse to us for a proper burial. If he is alive, they should release him to spare his parents from unnecessary trauma.”
He also used the protest to call on the governor to address the ongoing crisis between the Irele and Igbobini communities.
Mrs. Janet Akindoyo, the missing student’s mother, recounted that her son arrived in Irele on Sunday, June 10, went to the farm the next day, and has not been seen since. “His motorcycle was found parked, but he has not been seen. I appeal to the security agencies and the public to help find him,” she pleaded.
State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident and stated that police officers are actively searching the forest for the missing student. “Our men are working in the forest in search of him, and an investigation has begun,” she said.
