Students, under the umbrella of Free Campus Press Movement (FCPM), have condemned the suspension of Mr. Kunle Adebajo, a campus journalist and law student of the University of Ibadan.
DAILY POST gathered that Adebajo, who is expected to proceed to the Nigerian Law School this year, was suspended over his investigative feature titled “UI: The Irony of Fashionable Rooftops and Awful Interiors”.
FCMP, in a statement obtained by DAILY POST on Sunday, faulted the two-semester suspension of Adebajo by the University management.
The students while acknowledging the fact that the University had the right to discipline its students, however, declared that they were very much concerned that the institution’s management found it very convenient to suspend Adebajo for his investigative report.
The statement said, “While we are not contesting the powers of the University to discipline Students, we are very much concerned that the institution management found it very convenient to suspend Kunle Adebajo for his investigative feature titled “UI: The Irony of Fashionable Rooftops and Awful Interiors” published on Guardian newspapers in 2016.
“Not only do we find this strange in the current dispensation of modern terms and in the post-colonial era, we also find it strange that the University failed to observe that this intellectual work did not in anyway abuse or defame any personality nor institution but rather aimed to improve the standard of the University.
“We are deeply disappointed that a University of prestige and calibre like University of Ibadan will fail to observe that ethics of Journalism requires objectivity, we feel the objectivity of Kunle Adebajo was seen as subjectivity by the University management which is appalling”.
While stressing the importance of freedom of the press, the students said, “In the current age where Press Freedom is being preached, we find it very disheartening that University of Ibadan decided to be the premier varsity in suspending campus Journalists.
“We would not fold our arms, we call on all well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the University management to rescind the suspension of Mr Adebajo”.
However, all efforts made by DAILY POST to get the reactions of the University management to explain the rationale behind the suspension proved abortive as of the time of filling this report as calls put through the phone number of Director of Communication of the institution, Mr. Toye Oladejo were not answered.
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