Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo has declared three days of mourning and days of prayer and fasting in the aftermath of the death of an undergraduate student who was allegedly tortured and brutally beaten by his schoolmates.
Speaking at a news conference at the university’s Council Chamber on Monday, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Timothy Adebayo, said the university had declared a three-day mourning period from Wednesday to Friday.
He added that the period would also sessions of prayer and fasting each night.
“I sympathize with the family. We don’t pray for such to happen. We are sad about the development,” he said.
Prof. Adebayo, who said he had wept for two days following the incident said he almost couldn’t muster the strenght to address the conference.
“As the vice-chancellor, I wept throughout Sunday and Monday. Even while conveying the message to the staff, I wept. I didn’t know I would be able to address this press conference,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor detailed the police action taken in response to the incident, noting that 18 individuals were initially detained, with the number subsequently reduced to 12 after screening. Among those arrested is a porter, who, along with the students, was taken to the Iyaganku Police Station in Ibadan.
To bolster security, the university plans to increase the number of security operatives and porters on campus. “We will keep on beefing up security in our hostels and work on every other aspect of observed inadequacies,” he added.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Adebayo reassured parents of the safety and moral upbringing of their children at the university.
He said, “Ajayi Crowther University is safe. We raise students with Godly characters. We are telling the parents now that their children are in safe hands here.”
