Police Tear Gas, Arrest Protesting UNILAG Students

There was panic yesterday as officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) fired tear gas at students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) who were protesting tuition hike in their schools.

Our correspondent gathered that the students had converged on the school for a peaceful protest against the increase in tuition.

The police who were on the ground to monitor the students were said to have fired some shots, swooped on them and arrested two persons over the protest at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba.

The duo identified as Femi Adeyeye and Philip Olatinwo were arrested by the police over the protest of the hike of school fees across educational institutions in the country.

At the scene of the protest, the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps personnel and the university security officers were on the ground to dislodge the raging protesters from the entrance of the university.

While the students continued to rally close to the university’s gate, the police operatives and NSCDC personnel set up a barricade to avert the protest by shooting teargas to disperse the students.

It was gathered that the protest was convened by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) just as it said in an earlier release on Tuesday of the plan to mobilize its members to protest at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos.

The National Association Nigeria Students (NANS) national public relations officer, Giwa Temitope, said, “We are mobilising for the protest  the fee hike in UNILAG which happened on August 2. And what we are fighting for is a total reversal of the increment in school fees for the students,” he stated.

Also Seyi Johnson, a candidate seeking admission into the school, said, “We were all denied access into the school facility just as many others who came for the screening exercise because they think we might join to cause trouble”

The Lagos State police command spokesman, Ben Hundeyin, a superintendent of police, is yet to respond to calls and text messages as of the time of filing this report.