by Anike Jacobs

Student leader, Tosin Ogunkuade, who participated in the campaign rally of the party’s presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in Ekiti state on Saturday has been arrested Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The National Vice-President, External, National Association of Nigerian Students, was reportedly arrested on the order of the governor for addressing the crowd during Buhari campaign in the state.

Reacting to the action, the APC state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, released a statement saying,

“Ogunkuade was arrested for listing out challenges facing the Nigerian students, saying the present government was not capable of addressing the hardships being faced by the students in accessing quality education.

“He said to the applause of hundreds of students in attendance that Buhari presented a better hope for students in their educational pursuits.

“The thugs trailed Ogunkuade to Ikogosi-Ekiti just 24 hours after he spoke, where he and other students were seriously injured after they were attacked with machet and other dangerous weapons.

“After these students were attacked at Ikogosi, they ran to Efon-Alaye Police Station to report the matter. To our surprise, the police detained them before they were transferred to Aramoko-Ekiti Police Station.

“To our shock again, just this morning, one of their colleagues, Damilare Bewaji, who went to visit them at the Aramoko Police Station, was also arrested and detained by the police on the order of the governor,” the statement read.

Denying the arrest however, Fayose insisted that those arrested were the APC thugs caught with dangerous weapons and recruited by one APC member in the House of Representatives to terrorise supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Erijiyan and Ikogosi-Ekiti.

Fayose in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said: “The thugs were arrested with guns, axes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons while trying to escape through Efon-Alaaye at about 3am today.

“The thugs were Odebunmi Idowu (from Ilupeju-Ekiti), Aliyu Yusuf (from Ibadan), Oladayo Obikoya (from Ikogosi) and Ogunkuade Oluwatosin (a.k.a Jasper).

“They were arrested in a red-coloured Nissan Sunny with registration number Ekiti AH 176 EFY, and were moved to the Aramoko-Ekiti Police Station, where they were detained briefly before they were moved to the Police Headquarters, Ado-Ekiti,” the statement said.

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