OAU Students Regain Freedom After Protest Against Wike’s Visit

Two students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State arrested on Thursday for protesting against FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike have been released.

The students, Oladepo Joshua and Ejike Kelechi, were arrested for protesting against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, during a high-profile event on campus.

The students were taken into custody by police officers attached to the Moore Division in Ile-Ife, but were later released following a dramatic show of solidarity by their colleagues, who reportedly besieged the police station and nearly shut it down.

The duo had staged a protest inside the Oduduwa Hall, venue of the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture, where Wike was billed to speak.

The students were seen in video footage holding placards and chanting demands for compensation for Abuja residents whose homes were allegedly demolished under Wike’s leadership as FCT Minister.

“Compensate those whose houses you demolished,” the students chanted before being removed by security personnel.

The protest sparked unrest within the university community, drawing mixed reactions from students and observers.

Multiple sources who spoke with Sahara Reporters alleged that a former student, John Udeh, previously arrested in 2018 for cult-related activities, was involved in suppressing the protest.

Udeh, who was a Part 2 student of Social Studies Education at the time of his arrest, was reportedly seen confronting the protesters and collecting their placards during the incident.

Sources within the student body and university community have expressed concern over Udeh’s continued presence on campus, claiming that despite his previous arrest and extended stay at the institution, he remains active and allegedly collaborates with authorities to suppress dissent.

The source said, “The school claimed they were restrained by fellow students but the guy that led the students was arrested as a cultist in 2018 and later released. He has been in the school since then as a known cultist who the school allegedly uses to threaten students.

“So he was used to attack the two students protesting. He should have left school but he iis still there after nine years.”