No fewer than 34 students of the Lagos State University have missed the first semester examinations which began on Monday. The students are currently in police detention following the killings of two students of the institution. The implication of this is that the students will automatically carry over all their courses.
The development could also lead to some of them having extra year because some of the courses must be passed before advanced level of the courses could be studied. Over 70 students were arrested in connection with the killings of two students of the school, Hip Hop artiste, Damilola Olaniyan aka Damino Damoche and Kabiru Atoyebi.
It was learnt that after the suspects were screened at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja, about 36 students were released while others remained in custody. The Students Union Government of the institution had appealed to the school authorities to ensure the suspected students were allowed to participate in the examination, while their interrogation continued. According to a source in the school, who pleaded anonymity, the SUG feels that the students do not deserve to be treated like criminals since they have not been found guilty.
He said, “The students were indiscriminately arrested in their hostels by policemen and abandoned in the cell since March 3, 2013.” But the SUG’s Public Relations Officer, Adeleke Stephen, said, “This is a clear example of the effect of cultism. I see no reason why students should not face their education. For the good of all, I advise all students on campus to avoid engaging in cultism and all acts that may lead to disorderliness.”
All efforts to speak with the spokesperson for the institution, Sola Fosudo, proved abortive as all calls made to his telephone rang out. The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. John Obafunwa, when contacted, directed our correspondent to his deputy. However, a senior official of the school, who craved anonymity, said it was not LASU’s fault that the students missed sitting for the examination. He added that the school would not make any concession for them.