On Wednesday, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, narrowly escaped an attack during a protest in Abeokuta. She was traveling to the 35 Artillery Brigade Alabama to represent Governor Dapo Abiodun at the 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day ceremony when her convoy encountered a group of protesting students.
The protest started at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) and was planned to end at the Governor’s office in Oke-Mosan. The students were protesting various issues, including delayed results for graduates, problems with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilization, and rising tuition fees. As a result, MAPOLY management closed the school and dissolved the student union executives.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Ogun JCC, led by Adeyanju Francis, condemned these actions and organized the protest for Wednesday. According to reports, the students, who were reportedly armed with sticks and other objects, became agitated when they saw the Deputy Governor’s convoy.
The statement reads, “The irate protesting MAPOLY students, were armed with sticks and other dangerous projectiles, all efforts to allow the convoy pass proved abortive as immediately the students realized it was the Deputy Governor, they became even more restive and rushed to attack her convoy despite her security operatives as well as other police officers’ persuasion to stay calm and allow the convoy pass
“This informed her convoy’s decision to make an immediate detour to her lodge for the protesting students to pass peacefully before she left for the function she was slated to attend.
“Noteworthy is that there was obstruction of vehicular movement, while some of her security vehicles were damaged and her security operatives were also hurt in the process of maintaining law and order.”
However, when contacted, Adeyanju Francis denied the allegations of an attack, claiming instead that police officers traveling with the Deputy Governor’s convoy fired shots at the students first.
Francis said, “None of our students attacked her, we were coming peacefully. We converged this morning at MAPOLY to express our grievances to the Ogun State government and on our way going to Oke Mosan we were accosted by the entourage of the deputy governor.
“At first we thought she was sent from Oke-Mosan to engage the student constituency not until the policemen attached to her started shooting at Nigeria students.
“We even took three out of the bullets they shot at us at OPIC on our way to Iwe Iroyin.”
Francis maintained that none of the students were armed with stick, saying, “It is a blatant lie against Nigerian students; even her policemen injured some of our students. It was after that that the students started chasing their vehicles.”
