Ondo: Pandemonium as unknown military men disrupt students protest over ongoing ASUU strike

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

There was pandemonium on Tuesday in Akure, the Ondo state capital, as some unknown military personnel disrupted the ongoing protest embarked by Universities students against the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Recall that the protesters who had began the protest on Monday barricaded the Akure-Ilesa highway in Akure, halting vehicular movement and causing a traffic bottleneck for many hours.

On Tuesday morning, the students again converged more and barricaded the route and after a few hours of protesting, a convoy of unknown military men in camouflage passing through the state came across the protesters’ barricaded expressway.

It was gathered that the unknown military men who were said to be coming from the Ilesha road, after talking to the students to clear the road for them which the students rejected, shot into the air and dispersed the protesters, cleared the road and went on their way.

The eyewitness said, “When the soldiers got to the scene and met the road barricaded, some of them came down to speak with the students but they (students) refused to open the road.

“Suddenly, the soldiers shot sporadically into the air to disperse the protesters. Many people around the area also ran helter skelter for safety. After that the soldiers cleared the road and their vehicles passed.”

The eyewitness however noted that nobody was killed in the minor fracas while the identity of the military were not ascertained as at press time.

But the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, who also confirmed the incident said she could not comment on the issue because the men of the State Police Command were not involved.