The Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja, has expelled a student,
Kayode Bello, after he allegedly had an argument with a
fellow student, identified simply as Chidima, over seat reservation
in a lecture room.
The graduate of University of Ibadan, Oyo State, was reportedly
bundled out of the school’s library by law school officials and
policemen attached to the Bwari Police Station on the day he was
expelled.
TheNigerialawyer learnt that Bello’s issue with
the school management started shortly after he gained admission
into the institution in November 2016.
It was gathered that he complained to the Secretary to the
Council of Legal Education, Mrs. Elizabeth Max-Uba, over the
leakage of the sewage pipe in his room’s toilet.
He said he also reported to the secretary that the water system
in rooms in the hostel was not functioning, adding that his
complaints were not attended to.
The 34-year-old told our correspondent that the events that led
to his expulsion started on March 15, 2017, when he went to the
class for a morning lecture.
“The class is usually overcrowded. There are no enough chairs in
the lecture room and we have issues over seat reservation. At a
point, the Head Marshal, Mr. Akinyemi, announced publicly that
there should not be seat reservation again because it was causing
problems.
“That day, I met Chidima and other persons sitting on some
chairs. There was a book on a vacant chair. As I made to sit on the
vacant chair, Chidima said she was keeping the seat for a student.
I said I would leave when the person came.
“When the lady came 20 minutes later, Chidima angrily told me to
vacate the seat. I told her that her approach was wrong. In the
process, a marshal came and took both of us to Mr. Akinyemi’s
office. He asked me to look for another seat. I made him to realise
that he was the one that gave an order on seat reservation, but he
ignored me.
“I went to report the matter to the school’s Chief Security
Officer, Mr. Ogunboyan, but he was not in the office. I called him
on the telephone and he asked me to be patient, saying he would
address it when he came back.”
Bello said the CSO took him to Akinyemi later that day and the
Head Marshal complained that he (Bello) was rude.
“I said I was not rude, but was trying to let him (Akinyemi)
realise that he didn’t do justice to the matter brought before
him,” he added.
Bello said both officials flared up at that point and Akinyemi
threatened him with a query. He stated that he immediately
submitted a petition on the issue at the secretary’s office, adding
that she did not acknowledge it.
Leaking
Toilet
He said he also sent the same petition to the email of the
Nigerian Law School without getting a reply.
He said Akinyemi announced the query in the class the following
day and gave him a copy, which he replied to.
“I also made my response known to the class. He issued the query
and signed it on behalf of the Dean of Students’ Affairs, which is
wrong,” Bello said.
He said the officials suddenly turned the matter against him,
accusing him of inciting students against the school management,
adding that his room was inspected on March 20, but nothing
incriminating was found.
Bello explained that the Students’ Representative Council was
also influenced to issue a disclaimer against him.
“On March 21, the CSO and the Head of Academic Affairs, Mr.
Osamolu, came to my room in the midnight and forcefully evicted me.
I paid over N300,000 as school fee, of which N60,000 was for hostel
accommodation. They handed me over to policemen at the school’s
police post. When I explained what happened to a policeman, he was
surprised. He gave me a space to pass the night.
“When I returned to the hostel the following day, I met the door
of my room broken, while my bed had been taken away. I reported at
the Bwari Police Station, but a policewoman I met there requested
money to buy a case file, which I declined to provide.
“My lawyer wrote to the secretary about my victimisation, but
she didn’t reply. I also petitioned the Public Complaints
Commission, which wrote to the Nigerian Law School.
“The SRC later withdrew the disclaimer privately, but they had
endangered my life and allowed the school management to capitalise
on it. I said the SRC chairman should resign as a punitive measure
for the disclaimer, while a fresh committee be set up to look into
my case. They said it was not possible for the chairman to
resign.”
He said he kept sleeping in the open room until they went for
externship (attachment to law firms and courts) in April 24, adding
that his application for hostel accommodation during the programme
was rejected by the school.
He said, “We returned from externship on July 12. I was in the
library on July 17 preparing for Portfolio Assessment which started
the next day when the CSO led some people to give me a letter of
expulsion to sign. I rejected it. They called for reinforcement and
I was dragged out of the library and taken to the Bwari Police
Station, where I had earlier lodged a complaint against the school
without any action.
“They said they would charge me to court; I was happy. I was
detained. They later released me after I signed an undertaking that
there would be peace.”
The representative of UI graduates in the SRC, Patrick Oyakhare,
confirmed to our correspondent that the SRC regretted issuing the
disclaimer.
“I met with Kayode (Bello) to tell me what he wanted. He said
the committee that sat on his matter should be reconstituted while
the chairman should resign. I presented it at a meeting. The first
condition was agreed to, but it is not possible for the chairman to
resign. It is only the school that can comment on his expulsion,”
he added.
Some students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Bello
was expelled because the school authorities saw him as a
threat.
A student said, “Kayode is 100 per cent right about his
complaints over the poor state of the facilities in the school. All
the students are aware, but no one has the confidence to challenge
the school. It is just unfortunate that Nigeria is a country where
it is difficult to fight an institution and win.”
Another student described the fate of students in the
institution as “a baby that is being spanked, but dares not
cry.”
“You can come to the school to see the state of the facilities
yourself. Bello may be blamed for challenging the school
authorities, but he was fighting for a right course,” he added.
When contacted on the telephone, the CSO directed our
correspondent to the Secretary to the Council of Legal
Education.
Asked what actually led to Bello’s expulsion, the Secretary,
Max-Uba, said the management would issue a statement on the issue
on Monday (today).
An official of Public Complaint Commission, who did not want his
name in print because he was not authorised to speak to the press,
said the commission wrote to the Nigerian Law School over a month
ago, adding that he and his team visited the school when there was
no reply to the letter.
“We went there on a Friday, a day after the school had its
call-to-bar ceremony. We waited for about 15 minutes, but could not
see either the Director-General of the law school, the secretary or
the Dean, Students’ Affairs. He has told me about the expulsion. We
will go back by Wednesday,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Abuja Police
Command, Anjuguri Mensah, promised to make enquiries from the Bwari
division and get back with comments.
He had, however, yet to get back as of press time.
The Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja, has expelled a student,
Kayode Bello, after he allegedly had an argument with a
fellow student, identified simply as Chidima, over seat reservation
in a lecture room.
The graduate of University of Ibadan, Oyo State, was reportedly
bundled out of the school’s library by law school officials and
policemen attached to the Bwari Police Station on the day he was
expelled.
TheNigerialawyer learnt that Bello’s issue with
the school management started shortly after he gained admission
into the institution in November 2016.
It was gathered that he complained to the Secretary to the
Council of Legal Education, Mrs. Elizabeth Max-Uba, over the
leakage of the sewage pipe in his room’s toilet.
He said he also reported to the secretary that the water system
in rooms in the hostel was not functioning, adding that his
complaints were not attended to.
The 34-year-old told our correspondent that the events that led
to his expulsion started on March 15, 2017, when he went to the
class for a morning lecture.
“The class is usually overcrowded. There are no enough chairs in
the lecture room and we have issues over seat reservation. At a
point, the Head Marshal, Mr. Akinyemi, announced publicly that
there should not be seat reservation again because it was causing
problems.
“That day, I met Chidima and other persons sitting on some
chairs. There was a book on a vacant chair. As I made to sit on the
vacant chair, Chidima said she was keeping the seat for a student.
I said I would leave when the person came.
“When the lady came 20 minutes later, Chidima angrily told me to
vacate the seat. I told her that her approach was wrong. In the
process, a marshal came and took both of us to Mr. Akinyemi’s
office. He asked me to look for another seat. I made him to realise
that he was the one that gave an order on seat reservation, but he
ignored me.
“I went to report the matter to the school’s Chief Security
Officer, Mr. Ogunboyan, but he was not in the office. I called him
on the telephone and he asked me to be patient, saying he would
address it when he came back.”
Bello said the CSO took him to Akinyemi later that day and the
Head Marshal complained that he (Bello) was rude.
“I said I was not rude, but was trying to let him (Akinyemi)
realise that he didn’t do justice to the matter brought before
him,” he added.
Bello said both officials flared up at that point and Akinyemi
threatened him with a query. He stated that he immediately
submitted a petition on the issue at the secretary’s office, adding
that she did not acknowledge it.
Leaking
Toilet
He said he also sent the same petition to the email of the
Nigerian Law School without getting a reply.
He said Akinyemi announced the query in the class the following
day and gave him a copy, which he replied to.
“I also made my response known to the class. He issued the query
and signed it on behalf of the Dean of Students’ Affairs, which is
wrong,” Bello said.
He said the officials suddenly turned the matter against him,
accusing him of inciting students against the school management,
adding that his room was inspected on March 20, but nothing
incriminating was found.
Bello explained that the Students’ Representative Council was
also influenced to issue a disclaimer against him.
“On March 21, the CSO and the Head of Academic Affairs, Mr.
Osamolu, came to my room in the midnight and forcefully evicted me.
I paid over N300,000 as school fee, of which N60,000 was for hostel
accommodation. They handed me over to policemen at the school’s
police post. When I explained what happened to a policeman, he was
surprised. He gave me a space to pass the night.
“When I returned to the hostel the following day, I met the door
of my room broken, while my bed had been taken away. I reported at
the Bwari Police Station, but a policewoman I met there requested
money to buy a case file, which I declined to provide.
“My lawyer wrote to the secretary about my victimisation, but
she didn’t reply. I also petitioned the Public Complaints
Commission, which wrote to the Nigerian Law School.
“The SRC later withdrew the disclaimer privately, but they had
endangered my life and allowed the school management to capitalise
on it. I said the SRC chairman should resign as a punitive measure
for the disclaimer, while a fresh committee be set up to look into
my case. They said it was not possible for the chairman to
resign.”
He said he kept sleeping in the open room until they went for
externship (attachment to law firms and courts) in April 24, adding
that his application for hostel accommodation during the programme
was rejected by the school.
He said, “We returned from externship on July 12. I was in the
library on July 17 preparing for Portfolio Assessment which started
the next day when the CSO led some people to give me a letter of
expulsion to sign. I rejected it. They called for reinforcement and
I was dragged out of the library and taken to the Bwari Police
Station, where I had earlier lodged a complaint against the school
without any action.
“They said they would charge me to court; I was happy. I was
detained. They later released me after I signed an undertaking that
there would be peace.”
The representative of UI graduates in the SRC, Patrick Oyakhare,
confirmed to our correspondent that the SRC regretted issuing the
disclaimer.
“I met with Kayode (Bello) to tell me what he wanted. He said
the committee that sat on his matter should be reconstituted while
the chairman should resign. I presented it at a meeting. The first
condition was agreed to, but it is not possible for the chairman to
resign. It is only the school that can comment on his expulsion,”
he added.
Some students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Bello
was expelled because the school authorities saw him as a
threat.
A student said, “Kayode is 100 per cent right about his
complaints over the poor state of the facilities in the school. All
the students are aware, but no one has the confidence to challenge
the school. It is just unfortunate that Nigeria is a country where
it is difficult to fight an institution and win.”
Another student described the fate of students in the
institution as “a baby that is being spanked, but dares not
cry.”
“You can come to the school to see the state of the facilities
yourself. Bello may be blamed for challenging the school
authorities, but he was fighting for a right course,” he added.
When contacted on the telephone, the CSO directed our
correspondent to the Secretary to the Council of Legal
Education.
Asked what actually led to Bello’s expulsion, the Secretary,
Max-Uba, said the management would issue a statement on the issue
on Monday (today).
An official of Public Complaint Commission, who did not want his
name in print because he was not authorised to speak to the press,
said the commission wrote to the Nigerian Law School over a month
ago, adding that he and his team visited the school when there was
no reply to the letter.
“We went there on a Friday, a day after the school had its
call-to-bar ceremony. We waited for about 15 minutes, but could not
see either the Director-General of the law school, the secretary or
the Dean, Students’ Affairs. He has told me about the expulsion. We
will go back by Wednesday,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Abuja Police
Command, Anjuguri Mensah, promised to make enquiries from the Bwari
division and get back with comments.
He had, however, yet to get back as of press time.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/law-school-expels-student-after-protesting-seat-reservation/