Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday led parents of some students accused of perpetrating the February 7 violence at the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, to a peace meeting with the Founder and Chancellor of the institution, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN)...
The parents, led by Mr. Olaniyi Ogungbuji, had besieged the Government House, Ado Ekiti, pleading with the governor to intervene for an amicable resolution of the matter.
Expressing worries, the parents said they had expected their children would be released by the court on Friday having agreed to some conditions set by Babalola.
Condemning the violence by their children, the parents urged the governor to prevail on the institution to use internal mechanism to resolve the matter.
In his remarks, Fayose said the government and people of Ekiti held Babalola and his university in high esteem.
“We are proud of Aare Afe Babalola and the university that he established here. The university is our heritage here in Ekiti and we are concerned with what goes on there. By the time you people called me late Thursday night, the case file was with the police and there was nothing the Director of Public Prosecution could rely on to advise the court on Friday, if he could do that.
“We must, however, discipline our children so as to save their future. I will get across to Baba and we will go and meet him on campus. One thing that I too will not agree to is that indicted students should not be punished. If Baba agrees that internal mechanism of the school be used to fish out the culprits, they must be punished to serve as deterrent to others,” he said.
When the governor and the parents later met with Babalola on the university campus, the legal luminary expressed delight at the interest the governor had showed in the school.
He said, “Your Excellency, I am really happy with your keen interest in this university and your intervention in the matter. I appreciate the honour you have done me. The management of the university has set up a panel to probe the incident and we are not opposed to internal mechanism to resolve the issue.”
The students were accused of an attempt to rob a branch of Wema Bank in the institution.
The police alleged that the students on February 7 unlawfully committed the offence of arson by burning houses belonging to ABUAD University security staff and burgling of a boutique belonging to the wife of the ABUAD founder.
They are also facing a separate six-count charge including rioting, possession of firearms and malicious damage.
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