TheCable

Despite the arraignment of eight of them in court for disturbing public peace, students of the Lagos State University intend to continue protesting the hike in fees tuition fees until the state government reduces the fees.

According to the president of the university’s students’ union, Nurudeen Yusuf, the right to peaceful protest is enshrined in the constitution; and the students, as citizens of the country, intend to continue exercising it.

“We are students and Nigerian citizens; and as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, we have freedom of expression and the right to protest,” he said.

Hundreds of LASU students trooped to the streets on Tuesday, carrying placards around Ikeja-Along Bus Stop through Computer Village to Oshodi.

But what had been a peaceful protest went violent at Bolade area of Oshodi when police officers attempted to disperse them by firing tear gas and gun shots into the air.

While 16 of the students were arrested, 10 were hospitalised and five vehicles belonging to the union were seized. Eight of the arrested students were then arraigned on Wednesday before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on the charge of disturbing public peace.

Yusuf condemned the attack by the policemen, describing it as unconstitutional and an abuse of power, as “the students were not engaged in violent protest” but only carried placards and chanted solidarity songs to sensitise the government about their plight.

“We started the protest from LASU gate with five police vans following us all through until we got to Bolade, Oshodi, when it seemed the police received an order to disperse us. We did not vandalise any public property as claimed,” he said.

The Lagos State government had announced a fee of N197,000 for regular students and N350,000 for medical students, but the union wants the figures reversed to N46,500 for returning students and N65,500 for fresh students.