FECA students protest ‘grabbing’ of school land in Ondo

Hundreds of students from the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure (FECA) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took to the streets on Thursday to protest the grabbing of the institution’s land.

Armed with placards that read, “Our land, our school, our future,” “Don’t send FECA into extinction,” “Rescue FECA from land grabbers,” “FECA land is not for sale,” “Federal Government should come to FECA’s aid,” and “Allow FECA to breathe,” among others, they marched to the Ilesa-Owo expressway.

The demonstration, which included all students of the institutions, student union leaders, and the management team of the institution, vowed not to leave the highway until they grabbed the attention of the federal government.

The demonstrators, which also included former students of the school, marched to the grabbed portion and blocked the ever-busy Akure/Owo road, hindering vehicular movement for several hours while motorists and travelers were stranded.

Addressing the media, the President of the Student Union, Ademola Oduntan, condemned the irresponsible act of illegality, claiming and selling the institution’s lands. He described the development as an open declaration of war on the educational values the school contributes to society.

He noted that the grabbing of the school land is a direct threat to the sustainability roles the lands play for the institution of learning of agriculture. He explained that the land grabbers have been molesting the female students, physically assaulting the male students, and concurrently exposing them to environmental hazards and other threats, as the lands being grabbed are mostly around the students’ residential areas.

He disclosed that some structures belonging to the school had been vandalized, saying the land grabbers go as far as destroying whatever they find on the land.

In addition, the Chairman of NANS in the state, Salami Rosheed, said the school and the students could no longer tolerate all forms of illegal activities on the lands that belong to the institution. He urged the State and Federal Government to curtail the activities of the land grabbers.

However, some security personnel drafted to the scene of the protest appealed to the protesting students to give room for dialogue, assuring that the government would look into the issue and ensure the interests of the students and the institution are protected.

They urged the leadership of the students to appeal to the protesters to avoid miscreants hijacking the protest from them.