END INJUSTICE AGAINST THE ASUU-LASU 5

Governor Sanwo-Olu and LASU Authorities Must Immediately Reinstatement Dismissed ASUU Activists

Between 2017 and 2019, five members of the executive council of the Lagos State University (LASU) Branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were unjustly dismissed over various trumped-up and frivolous allegations.  However, their real offence was insisting the university under the former Vice Chancellor Prof Lanre Fagbohun should be run ethically and properly in adherence to its rules and best practices.

So, their dismissals were a clear case of political victimization. This explains why on February 23, 2022 the Governing Council of the university, considering the report of its Appeal Committee, concluded that the dismissals were unjust and ordered their immediate reinstatement. However, the state government gave a counter order, directing the university not to implement the decision of the Council on the excuse that the matter was also before the Visitation Panel had already been purportedly set up. The Panel submitted its report in July 2022, but to date, the White Paper has not been released.

Therefore, the continued victimization of these ASUU leaders, widely known as the ASUU-LASU 5, for nearly a decade represents a grave violation of labour rights, academic freedom, and democratic norms. It is also a brazen disregard for justice and the rights of workers to organize and advocate for fair treatment at LASU. The main objective of their dismissals was to decimate the union, which is a bulwark of resistance against any form of maleficence and misrule, and thereby creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation on the campus.  Truly, this repression has significantly weakened in the university what was once a vibrant culture of principled engagement, where academic staff could collectively interrogate policies, defend professional standards, and advocate for improved conditions of service without fear of reprisal.

The victimized union leaders are Dr. Isaac Akinloye Oyewumi (Chairperson), Dr. Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu (Vice Chairperson), Dr. Tony Dansu (Secretary), Dr. Adeolu Oyekan (Assistant Secretary) and Dr. Oluwakemi Aboderin-Shonibare (Treasurer)

The joint Action Front (JAF), a coalition of socialist and left organisations including the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM), has been in solidarity with the ASUU LASU 5 and the union since the repression started.  At the last May Day rally in Lagos, JAF members held a protest to condemn the action of the Lagos state governor Jide Sanwo-Olu and university authorities and demand unconditional reinstatement of the lecturers with the restoration of all their lost financial benefits and promotions. The protest also helped draw public attention again to their continued victimization and called for the solidarity of other workers.

We call on workers including members of academic staff and non-teaching staff of LASU, trade unionists, activists, civil rights organisations and people of good conscience to lend the voice and be part of solidarity action to the demand the reinstatement of the ASUU-LASU leaders. For instance, the next adjourned date of their case at the National Industrial Court Lagos challenging their unjust dismissal on October 6, 2026 and every subsequent court date should be used as a day of solidarity action.

We specifically call on the Lagos state leaderships of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to end their disturbing silence over the injustice done to the ASUU-LASU 5. We strongly hold that fighting for the immediate recall of these union leaders in the spirit of labour solidarity is an obligation for the NLC and TUC.  An injury to one is an injury at all.