NANS threatens protest over alleged murder of LASU graduate

NANS threatens protest over alleged murder of LASU graduate

The Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students Joint Campus Council has condemned the alleged murder of Adedamola Ogunbode, a 2024 graduate of Lagos State University.

Although the Lagos State Police Command has maintained that Ogunbode’s case remains that of a “missing person” investigation, the students alleged that he was “killed in cold blood by a so-called prophet in Ojo, Lagos State.”

The LASU Political Science Education graduate has reportedly been missing since January 16, 2025, amid rumours that his mutilated body had been discovered.

However, the command’s spokesperson, Chief Superintendent of Police Benjamin Hundeyin, has refuted this claim.

Hundeyin also disclosed that three suspects, including a prophet, had been arrested in connection with the case.

In a Thursday statement jointly signed by the state chairman, Abdul-Raheem Abdul-Quadri, and the Public Relations Officer, Ridwan Ajayi, NANS JCC Lagos, described the alleged killing as “a direct attack on the Nigerian student community.”

They stated that the incident was a “reflection of how insecure and unsafe” Nigeria had become for young people striving for a better future.

The students demanded “an expedited, transparent, and decisive legal process” to ensure justice is served, warning that they “will resist any attempts at political interference or compromise.”

Among their demands, they called on the state government to acknowledge that “students and graduates are no longer safe in their communities. If young people can be killed in such gruesome circumstances, what hope is left for the future of Nigeria? We demand special security measures around tertiary institutions and student communities.

“We call on the Lagos State Government and law enforcement agencies to conduct a full-scale audit of religious centres operating within student environments to root out criminal activities hiding under religious pretences.”

Emphasising their commitment to ensuring justice, the students declared, “We demand to be officially included in the investigative process. We refuse to be spectators while justice is being decided for one of our own.

We warn the government, the Nigeria Police, and all relevant authorities: Nigerian students will not watch this case be swept under the rug. If urgent actions are not taken, NANS will be forced to mobilise the full strength of the student movement across Lagos State in protest.

“This is beyond Adedamola; this is about the fundamental right to life that every Nigerian student deserves. We will not sit idle while students and graduates are hunted and butchered.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Ogunbode. We stand in full solidarity with the LASU student body in this moment of grief.”