Students Clash With Police Over ASUP Strike In Osun

Protesting students of state-owned tertiary institutions in Osun State on Thursday clashed with anti-riot policemen in a violent demonstration in Osogbo, the state capital.

The students trooped out in their thousands and blocked major roads in the city from around 9:30am, grounding vehicular movement and socio-economic activity for over four hours.

At the popular Olaiya Junction, the students used the students’ union buses donated to them by the state Governor Rauf Aregbesola to block access to commuters.

They insisted that the governor must end the three-month-old strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) to enable them return to their studies.

Nigerian Tribune reports that the protest turned violent when the students began to throw dangerous objects at anti-riot policemen who retaliated by firing tear gas canisters at them.

The students then went on rampage and vandalized some vehicles in the area.

It took the intervention of a special security unit, the Swift Action Squad (SAS), to restore order.

President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Osun State Polytechnic, (OSPOLY), Iree, Comrade Adetunji Oluwaseyi Phillips, told Tribune that at least 10 students, including himself were arrested.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Osun Police Command, DSP Folasade Odoro, said the police had restored normalcy.