Father of battered female student take legal action seeking justice

Closure may not have been reached in the case of a student of Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, Miss Oladokun Leshi Folashade, who on April 18 was allegedly battered on late payment of fee by two soldiers attached to the school.

Her father, Simeon Leshi, said he has decided to take legal action in seeking justice for his daughter following what he termed “silence” of concerned authorities.

In a telephone conversation with The Nation, Mr. Leshi blamed the school authorities for being insensitive towards his daughter’s plight, during and after her ordeal. He said: “The school must apologise for the assault on my daughter. I have waited for the school authorities to apologise for their indiscretion with regards to the incident, but nothing has been heard from the school rector to date.

“The intention of the school authorities was to prevent my daughter and about 150 other affected students from writing their exams so they could carry over an entire session because of late payment of N5, 000 fees, even when the tuition fee of over N70, 000 has been paid, and that is very unfair.”

He berated the rector of the school, Prof. Jumoke Awoderu, for supporting the injustice against his daughter in asking the Student Affairs Department to take her to a police station while she bled. ”The rector is a woman and should have acted like a mother instead of taking side with the soldiers involved. Her remarks published by a newspaper (not The Nation) that my daughter tore the soldiers’ uniform is even puerile and uncalled for. Is it possible and reasonable for a lady to descend on soldiers, when she is not mad?

“The truth is that she held on to the uniform of the soldiers when they subjected her to unnecessary brutality. I want the rector to reverse her statement and apologise because such comment can affect my daughter in future as people might use it against her.” In his remarks, Folashade’s lawyer, Mr. Habeeb Whyte of R.R.A & Associates, explained that legal action became inevitable ”because there has not been any response from the school authorities and state government since we forwarded our petition last week to the management of the polytechnic, Governor’s Office, Ogun State House of Assembly and Ministry of Education.

“We are giving them one more week after which we shall file a suit bothering on violation of fundamental human rights of our client because of the assault and injuries sustained during the needless attack on her by the errant soldiers. She has been visiting hospital to get treatment for the injuries she sustained during the attack, yet the school management has been indifferent to her plight.”

The Nation had exclusively reported how Folashade was flogged and denied entry into the school to sit her exams, while pleading to be allowed to pay a mandatory fee of N5, 000 for the repair of one of the buildings in the school that got burnt recently.

The 28-year-old National Diploma II student of Mass Communication was among over 100 students who failed to pay the fee within the period stipulated and decided to pay by cash on the day of the incident. She was, however, turned back by the soldiers who insisted she would not write her exams.

The soldiers pounced on Miss Oladokun and flogged her when she did not leave on time, while she pleaded to be allowed to pay the fee and write her exams. She was said to have been taken to Tapon Police Station in Ijebu Igbo, where she was later released to the traditional ruler of Oke Agbo community.

The spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the story. “The lady (Folashade) was brought to the station by soldiers attached to OP MESA on the allegation that she incited students against the school authorities,” he said. “We incidented the case and handled the matter professionally because she was bleeding. She was not detained but quickly released to the traditional ruler of Oke Agbo community in Ijebu Igbo on bail.”

Prof. Awoderu declined comment on the matter last week when contacted on the telephone.

It was learnt that Folashade and other affected students have been allowed to write their exams after the mandatory N5, 000 fee was collected from them. It was not, however, clear if they would be allowed to write the Use of English paper which they missed on the day of the incident following the initial refusal of the school management to allow them pay the N5, 000 fee necessary for taking the exams.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State government has said that the matter has been resolved.

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Modupe Mojota, told The Nation via telephone that Folashade has since resumed school and has also taken her semester examinations.

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