There was palpable tension, on Monday, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, as men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force and hefty private security personnels in black uniform stormed the campus and positioned themselves around the Governing Council Chamber facing the university main auditorium.
They were there according to sources to prevent possible breakdown of law and order as the Governing Council members of the university scheduled a special meeting for yesterday at the chamber. The meeting which was at the instance of the council chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin, who had two weeks ago directed the university registrar, Mr Oladejo Azeez, a lawyer and who also doubles as the council’s secretary to issue queries bordering on various alleged offences to some principal officers of the university including the Vice- Chancellor, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and his immediate predecessor, Prof Rahamon Bello, among others was scheduled for 10.00am.
Our correspondent, however, gathered that the private security men who were brought in also at the instance of the chairman of the governing council were there in the early hours of the day while the regular policemen who rode in three hilux van took over from them in the noon time.
It was gathered that the meeting was ended inconclusive as they would continue with it tomorrow (Tuesday).
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However, some of the stakeholders in the university have condemned the action of bringing in what they called stern-looking security men to campus when not that there was a chaos according to them in the university.
The institution’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), for example, kicked against the development, describing it as an attempt to militarise UNILAG by “an individual.”
The ASUU chairman of the branch, Dr Dele Ashiru, in a conversation said the union was not only ashamed of the action but would challenge the action appropriately.
and then