An aide to the Ogun State Governor on Student Affairs, Azeez Adeyemi, has alleged that the attack on him over the weekend was sponsored by political rivals opposed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration. Adeyemi, who was assaulted during the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee election in……
An aide to the Ogun State Governor on Student Affairs, Azeez Adeyemi, has alleged that the attack on him over the weekend was sponsored by political rivals opposed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration.
Adeyemi, who was assaulted during the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee election in Abeokuta, insisted that the attackers were hired thugs.
TVC News obtained a viral video showing Adeyemi being mobbed on Saturday at the venue of the NANS election, the Nigeria Labour Congress Secretariat in Abeokuta, Ogun State. In the video, Adeyemi was seen being dragged and beaten by an unidentified group of people.
Reacting to the development on Sunday, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed to journalists that an investigation had been launched after the video surfaced online.
“An investigation has commenced into the matter already,” Babaseyi said.
However, in a statement to TVC News on Tuesday, Adeyemi alleged that political opponents sponsored the attack using hired thugs. He further claimed that he was mobbed by thugs and disgruntled individuals reportedly brought in by student leaders acting on behalf of elements opposed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration.
The statement reads, “The Office of the Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Student Matters has denied reports that Comrade Azeez Adeyemi was attacked by students during the recent NANS Ogun JCC election in Abeokuta, attributing the incident to hired thugs. Adeyemi was not assaulted by legitimate students attending the election.”
He added that his attendance at the election was official and necessary, as his role was to ensure the process was peaceful, transparent, and credible.
The statement further noted that the election had been largely peaceful until a group of sponsored individuals disrupted it after it became clear that their preferred candidates would not win. It also alleged that one of the identified student leaders accosted Adeyemi on his way to the upper level of the NLC Secretariat and physically attacked him before calling on accomplices stationed downstairs to join in the assault.
The statement also revealed that some of the attackers have been identified, noting that they are not bona fide NANS members but “students-turned-hoodlums” working for those opposed to the state government.
The Office of the Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Student Matters asserted that the aim of the sponsored agents was to disrupt the exercise and discredit the process, adding that legal steps have been initiated against the perpetrators.
The office commended genuine NANS members for conducting themselves in an orderly manner during the election and vowed not to allow hoodlums to hijack student activities in the state.
The statement maintained that Comrade Adeyemi remains committed to upholding truth, justice, and the interests of Nigerian students in Ogun State.
