Democratic Socialist Movement

For Struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

By - DSM

OAU student president’s release again delayed


OAU student president’s release again delayed

By Peluola Adewale, DSM, Lagos

The Osun State government, in connivance with state judiciary, has continued to play games with the freedom of the three detained OAU student leaders. They persist in employing a combination of filibuster and frivolity to prevent the students’ bail application from being heard or ruled upon.

OAU Student union president Saburi’s application has not really taken off, it has so far witnessed five adjournments. The state counsels first came up with an objection to the application which was defeated and later started playing up the challenge of the student’s lawyers to the jurisdiction of the State Security Service (SSS) to arrest and detain Saburi just to drag out proceedings. However now, according to the student’s counsels, it appears all this has been finally put to rest at Thursday’s November 22 sitting, at least in connection to the bail application. Saburi’s case has been adjourned again to Tuesday, November 27 for the actual commencement of the hearing of the bail application.

Taiwo Hassan and Olatunde Dairo’s bail application has also had its fair share of this undue judicial merry-go-round to deliberately delay their release from prison. Their bail application witnessed its third adjournment on Monday, November 19, on a specious ground by the magistrate of needing time to study the counter-affidavit of the state to the bail application when he was due to give ruling. Their case comes up again next Monday November 26.

There are two sets of law in today’s Nigeria, one for the big-time looters and the other for the ordinary people. Just recently a foremost political thug and election rigger in Nigeria, Lamidi Adedubu who was recently declared “father of the PDP” by Obasanjo, took less than two hours to secure bail. He was invited by the police and “arraigned” for breach of peace. But students fighting for democratic rights and improved learning and living conditions have been incarcerated for months.