A Federal High Court in Ibadan has ordered the University of Ibadan to immediately reinstate three students who were suspended for protesting a hike in tuition fees, ruling that the university violated their constitutional right to fair hearing.
Justice Nkeonye Maha, who delivered the ruling on Wednesday, set aside the decision of the university’s Central Student Disciplinary Committee, which had rusticated Aduwo Ayodele, Mide Gbadegesin, and Nice Linus in July 2025.
The students had been suspended following demonstrations that erupted at midnight on May 13, 2024, after the university’s governing council endorsed a new schedule of levies for undergraduate students in the 2023/2024 academic session. The protests were triggered by a circular from the council’s secretary, G.O. Saliu, notifying students of the approved fee review and urging those yet to pay to complete their registration by September 4, 2024.
In a suit challenging their suspension, the students argued that the disciplinary proceedings were conducted in breach of natural justice — specifically, that they were denied the opportunity to call witnesses or present video footage of the events of May 13, 2024, before both the Student Disciplinary Committee and the Central Student Disciplinary Committee.
Justice Maha upheld the complaint, finding that the university had infringed on the students’ right to fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
“I hereby set aside the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and order the reinstatement of the suspended students,” she ruled.
The students had sought, among other reliefs, full restoration of their studentship rights and privileges — including the right to attend lectures, sit examinations, and participate in student union activities — as well as N20 million in damages jointly against the respondents and N5 million in exemplary damages against the second respondent.
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) on Wednesday commended the ruling and demanded that the university comply immediately, reinstate the students, and issue an unreserved apology to the trio.
In a statement issued in Ibadan, CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, said the judgment delivered a clear message to the University of Ibadan and similar institutions across the country.
“The court’s decision sends an unequivocal message to the University of Ibadan and other oppressive academic institutions nationwide that tyranny and the use of authoritarian tactics to stifle legitimate dissent is unlawful, unacceptable and will not stand,” Ibeh said.
CAPPA also referenced testimony heard in court that the protesters were dragged out of a hall by the university’s internal security operatives and handed to a mob that assaulted them before they were profiled as criminals and handed over to soldiers of the Operation Burst unit as suspected cultists. The court noted that the university authorities did not deny these allegations.
The judgment, CAPPA added, affirms students’ constitutional rights to freedom of thought and expression under Sections 38 and 39 of the 1999 Constitution.