The Judicial Council of Students Union Government (SUG) of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago – Iwoye, has warned persons hiding under the cloak of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Joint Campus Committee (JCC) not to incite the institution’s students against the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Deji Agboola and the Management over the planned students election.
The Judicial Council which was reacting to alleged false assertions by some persons under the guise of NANS – JCC, ostensibly to undermine the upcoming SUG elections and incite students to rebel against the school management, said the Vice Chancellor and the varsity administration had acted in the students’ best interests.
The Acting Chief Justice of OOUSUG Judicial Council, Justice Waliyu Temitope Azeez made this known in a release made available for The Daily Crucible on Tuesday.
Justice Waliyu advised the University to take proactive security measures by seeking help from operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and other security agencies to forestall any action capable of breaching the peace of OOU.
He stated, “The OOUSUGJC is aware that some people making claims to represent NANS JCC have been disseminating untrue information to harm the reputations of the Vice Chancellor, the school management , and the Acting Chief Justice of the OOUSUGJC. These false assertions are intended to incite students against the administration of the school and the Electoral Commission (ECO) and the Petition Electoral Commission (PECO) that were established by the School Management on the recommendation of the SUG heads and resolution of the Faculty Student Associations to oversee the upcoming SUG elections.
“The earlier Eco and Peco purported to be constituted by the 35th OOUSUGSHS at its last sitting was held null and void by the OOUSUGJC on two grounds. First of all, the so-called “Graduated Nominees” who were disqualified by the senate have the same rights as every other undergraduate student in the institution as long as they have not been properly cleared by the OOU SENATE and have not been given certificates certifying them to be bona fide graduates of the school. By virtue of Section 2, the earlier nominees were still Student Union members and thus unjustly disqualified.
“Secondly, if the point of order raised by the Senate President at the last Sitting of the SHS that the earlier nominees should not be part of the electoral body because they are done with the academic session is to stand, then the Senate President himself should cease to be in power because the point of order applies to him also.
“The judgment of the OOUSUGJC was rested on the legal principle of “You cannot put something on nothing”. This was the position of the Privy council by Lord Alfred Thomas Dennin in _Benjamin Leonard MacFoy V United Africa Company Limited._ This principle was also used by Niki Tobi Jsc in the case of _Attorney General of Abia State & 2 Ors V Attorney General of the Federation 33 Ors._
“It should be noted that the resolution to make use of each of the faculty presidents and Speakers of the various Faculties in the University as the ECO and PECO representatives of their respective faculty respectively was not forced unto the students contrary to the false statements broadcasted by the individuals purporting to act under NAN JCC.
“Since the SHS has been dissolved and thus can no longer constitute Eco and Peco according to to _Sections 68 and 66_ of the _SUG constitution _respectively. Thus, the most equitable way to resolve the issue at hand was to reconstitute the ECO and PECO using the validly elected officials of each faculty student association as the representative of each faculty since the SUG is the umbrella union of all.
The resolution was rather reached by the Consensus of the heads of the three arms of the SUG which include; The President, the Acting Chief Judge and even the Senate President.
“Additionally, the resolution was adopted based on the *Doctrine of Necessity*. The Doctrine of necessity serves as the foundation for the legality of extraordinary administrative actions that are intended to restore order or uphold fundamental constitutional principles, even if they go against the established constitution, laws, norms, or conventions.
The Doctrine of necessity has been incorporated into Nigerian legal doctrine, and the court has affirmed it in numerous instances, including the well-known case of _Lakanmi & Anor V. A.G. Western state._
“Therefore, it is clear from the above that School management reconstituted the ECO and PECO based on the recommendations of the Student Union heads as well as the Doctrine of Necessity, which is intended to restore peace and order in the Student Union.
“While the exact motives of the people transmitting the fake information under the guise of NANS JCC seems to be sketchy and could not be determined. However, it is clear that they are intended to undermine the upcoming SUG elections and incite students to rebel against the school management, which has acted in their best interests.
“The OOUSUGJC advises that all students be on the lookout for misleading information and abstain from any behaviour that could jeopardise the Vice-Chancellor’s and the School Management’s intentions for doing what is right. No one should ever threaten the school Management with violence or attempt to instigate students to rebel against the administration by hiding behind the guise of an outside organisation. The assertions of imposition and illegality are false, unjustified, and an inappropriate intervention into the business of our union’s activities.
“The OOUSUGJC further advises that School administration put measures in place through its security officers and the state’s security operatives in case anyone tries to disturb or violate the public peace within the University Community.”
In the same vein, the OOU Electoral Commission, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Ogunowe Emmanuel (OOWE) and Public Relations Officer, Comrade Victor Adegbite (ERNEST), urged students of the institution to be wary of deceit and desist from any action that may hinder its good motives for the upcoming elections.
The statement partly read, “The attention of the Electoral Commission has been drawn to some proposed plans of some persons masquerading under the above named organization who intend to disrupt/breach the public peace under the guise of a protest.
“While the right to protest is a fundamental right, we condemn in entirety the purpose of the protest, as organized by some alleged external forces due to the proposed asinine actions of the individuals. As earlier released, the Electoral Commission comprises of a united front of the Faculty Presidents of the institution who have been saddled with public trust to discharge good governance and a peaceful and credible emergence of a new set of leaders for our dear union.
“We therefore urge every student to be wary of deceit and desist from participating in any action that will hinder the good motives of the electoral committee. While we are committed to public feedback, we urge dissatisfied individuals to channel their reservations through the proper medium and won’t tolerate any external influence. The electoral committee is up to the task and we promise the entire student populace a free and fair election.”
The electoral body appealed to all aspirants and their supporters to be peaceful in their
