Two students of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Akintunde Olumide and Oladapo Olaoluwa are to spend the next three years in jail after being found guilty of involvement in cultism.
The three-year imprisonment verdict was slammed on them by Justice Monisola Abodunde of an Ado Ekiti High Court who held that the prosecution has proved a case of stealing, assault and membership of a secret cult group against the accused beyond every reasonable doubt.
Police prosecutor, Femi Falade, told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 13, 2013 at a hotel in Iworoko -Ekiti.
He said that the accused were brought on a three -count-charge of stealing, assault and secret cult.
Falade said the offence was punishable under Section 355,4(1) of Criminal Code Laws of Ekiti State 2012 and Secret Cults (Abolition and Prohibition).
The prosecutor called four witnesses to prove his case, while the defendant counsel, Emmanuel Oluwole, also called three witnesses to prove his case.
Justice Abodunde said that the accused made a confessional statement as a member of Black Axe Confraternity at the Criminal Investigation Department during interrogation.
She added that the Police found in their custody, small cutlass, black head warmer, black T-shirt, black trousers during investigation.
The judge held that the short cutlass cannot be measurable with the one used for agriculture or weeding grass.
“It is not a tool for education, it is a weapon of danger and indiscriminating, which should not be seen within the school premises,” she added.
Justice Abodunde said the exhibit recovered from the accused made the case weighty and voluminous.
She therefore found the accused guilty as charged and convicted them accordingly.
The judge resolved two of the issues in favour of the accused and used the last count to sentence them to three years imprisonment without any option of fine.
She added that this would serve as deterrent to other students in higher institutions, to always face their studies and shun secret cult activities.
Ekiti State University (EKSU) Vice-Chancellor Prof. Samuel Bandele has revealed that a certificate racketeering syndicate has been smashed.
Addressing a briefing on his first three months in office, Bandele declared that the era of students not writing examinations only to be awarded certificates was gone for good.
He revealed that the Part Time Programmes (PTP) Unit where the scandal used to be common had been sanitised and some indicted lecturers sacked.
Bandele added that anybody who wants the school’s certificate must be deserving of it, having worked rigorously to pass.
EKSU has begun new courses at certificate and diploma levels to give opportunities to some people to develop themselves and to generate more revenue.
Bandele announced the plan for the take-off of some business ventures, such as mechanic village, bakery, eatery, commercial farm unit, entrepreneur unit, table water factory and consultancy services.
The Ekiti State University (EKSU) has scheduled the matriculation of fresh students for the 2015/2016 academic session for tomorrow.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Samuel Oye Bandele, will preside over the ceremony holding at the Main Auditorium of the university, while the Registrar, Mr. Emmanuel Ogunyemi, will administer the Matriculation oath.
Professor Samuel Oye Bandele assumed duties as the seventh Vice Chancellor of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti last month. He has unfolded a nine-point agenda to improve the 33-year-old university, reports ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA.
You are coming into office with a vision and mission to leave EKSU better than you met it. What is your agenda?
My vision is for this university to be an Information Technology-driven institution where all our operations will be driven by IT to check any infraction that might be in the system and place it more on the global academic map. My vision is divided into nine different items. Number one is infrastructure. The former VC worked on that very well. We have the ones that are not completed and we are going to work on them to improve the aesthetic of this campus and provide more facilities for learning and office accommodation.
The second is intellectualism. We are going to have an academic summit to examine teaching, learning, administration, academic culture; discipline. I hope to run a focused administration that will help students to be creative. We are going to support the Directorate of Entrepreneurship to make our students economically independent.
The third is industry. We want to make our environment conducive for our students and workers to thrive. We hope to make our staff more dutiful; our students will be engaged through our work-and-study programme.
I also intend to improve on our sporting activities. The university is old and members of staff are getting old; and many don’t check their blood pressure. Most deaths are caused by our habits, we will have recreational facilities.
In terms of information, we are going to make our university a hub because we don’t want this place to be isolated.
The next is IGR (Internally Generated Revenue), which we are going to pursue with passion. No institution, whether state-owned or federal-owned, can continue to rely on the government for funding. We must look inwards to generate funds to meet our needs. Risk-to-Wealth Initiative is my agenda to translate this into reality. We are going to have an IGR Summit we will come together and brainstorm on how we can turn our agenda, skills and knowledge to wealth.
We are going to set a template. I invited the ICT Department of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) because they have had a breakthrough in ICT. The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife came first on the WEBOMETRIC ranking and FUNAAB came second. If we can partner with them, I know that we can succeed and this is in line with my passion to move the university forward. Already, we are pursuing this nine-point vision with focused attention it deserves.
So many students live off-campus. Do you have plans to build more hostels to make the university fully residential?
It is our desire to make more students and staff to reside on the campus because this is an academic environment. There is a mighty hostel being built there through TETFUND and in the next few months, we are going to build 10,000-capacity student hotels through Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT). To make the residency effective, principal officers should be resident on campus. We are planning to have Principal Officers’ Village because when our students know that we are around, they will be rest assured that their needs will be met. There will be affordable houses for junior staff because we have some of them who travel to and from Akure and Ibadan. Having our students scattered in adjoining communities is not good enough because what many of them do, is better imagined than experienced. I am the pastor of the students of my church on the campus and I see a lot of things happening. Many of these students live together as if they are husbands and wives, commonly called cohabitation. Parents should cooperate with us and ensure that we come together to make this dream a reality.
What is your short-term plan to generate funds for the university? It is believed that the reduction of the school fees denied the management of about N500 million.
It may not be correct to say that the government’s decision to slash fees made the university to lose N500 million. Even before the government slashed the fees, how many of the students were paying? What is the essence of increasing fees that will not be paid? What the management is now trying to do is to ensure that these fees are paid and when they should be paid.
The university should look into IGR. The school fees will be there but what is wrong in having our own table water, bakery, and bookshop? We have the press, block industry and as the VC, we will meet with our contractors and if they want to partner with us, they should partner with us.
Faculties of Science and Social Sciences of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) were alive with electoral activities as students went to the polls to elect their leaders. OLATUNJI AWE (400-Level Political Science) and TOLULOPE ODUSANYA (300-Level Linguistics) report.
As the largest in Ekiti State University (EKSU), the Faculty of Science activities usually draw students’ attention. So did its election. Its chapter of the National Association of Science Students (NASS) held election, penultimate Wednesday, at the Science Pavilion.
The election was not without drama from the beginning to the end. First, an argument ensued when supporters of one of the presidential candidates, Oluwadamilola Ibikunle, pointed out an error in the spelling of his name on the ballot paper. Members of the electoral committee immediately corrected the mistake to avoid a crisis.
Because of the correction, the election, which was billed to start at 8am, was delayed for two hours, drawing reactions from supporters of other candidates.
At 10:30am, voting started, with the outgoing president, Oluwatosin Fajire, casting the first ballot. Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE afterwards, he said: “The election must be free and fair. If anybody misbehaves, such person would be handed over to the school security.”
The document that would make students eligible to vote was NASS receipt or the association’s identity card. Students turned out massively for the exercise, but many of them did not see their names on the voter’s list. Some had their identity cards and receipt, but their names were missing on the list.
Many students left in disappointment, but the exercise continued. The NASS presidency was a keen contest between Oluwadamilola, a Chemistry student, and Ayodele Eyinfunjowo, a Statistics student.
While students of Department of Biochemistry had their names on the voter’s list, many of them were unable to vote. Their president, Isaac Oyegbade, said the election coincided with their continuous assessment test in the department.
He said: “If one of us is contesting election, this is how he would have been edged out. We want the electoral committee to ensure the next election is held on time, so that Biochemistry students can have opportunity to participate and choose people who will lead the faculty.”
The voting ended at 4pm as counting started immediately. At 10:50pm, Oluwadamilola was declared president-elect, having polled a total of 713 votes, against his opponent Ayodele, who scored 621 votes. Oluwadamilola’s supporters moved round the faculty in jubilation.
On Friday, students of the Faculty of Social Sciences also went to the poll to elect their leaders. The exercise, which held in front of the faculty, started at 11am, some three hours behind schedule because of inadequate preparation by the electoral body.
Students turned out en mass, but many could not vote because of the scanty information about requirement. Some, who did not have their identity cards with them, protested their exclusion, calling the electoral committee not to disenfranchise them. It was later resolved that students should be allowed to present electronic receipts as alternative for identity cards.
At 1:20pm, the electoral committee members were overwhelmed by a crowd of students, who wanted to cast their ballots. School security officers moved in to control the crowd.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that some security officers used electric bats to control the crowd, a development that led to some students raising objection on the use of ‘force’ against them. This led to commotion at the venue for a few minutes. It took the intervention of the Chief Security Officer to restore order.
The voting ended at 4:15pm and counting started afterwards. At 11:30pm, the election results were announced. Ilemikekun Oluwaseun Abiodun, a 300-Level Political Science student, was declared president-elect of the faculty, with 674 votes against his opponent’s 661 votes.
Political Science students casting their ballots
Five of the nine executive positions of the faculty were won by students of the Department of Political Science.
A Members of staff of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) have been told they are required by law to declare their assets.
The state Director of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr. F. Feyisola, stated this at an orientation seminar organised by the university in collaboration with the bureau.
He said the law covers all workers in public institutions as against the belief that it only affects political office holders like the president, governors and legislators.
In his address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina, represented by the Provost, College of Post Graduate Studies, Prof. Dipo Ogunleye, said the university would cooperate with government officials on all genuine and obligatory responsibilities required by law.
Aina described workers of the university as honest, hardworking and responsible members of the community who earn legitimate means of livelihood.
The Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University, EKSU, Ado-Ekiti, Prof. Oladipo Aina, has charged lecturers and students of the university to abstain from plagiarism.
Aina made the remarks while declaring open a workshop on Research Methodology and Scholarship Grants organised by the Institute of Peace, Security and Governance of the university.
Prof Aina said students and the lecturers must be original in all researches in order to prove themselves.
He further noted that the mission and vision of the institute is to bring a positive change and solution to the current security and peace challenges facing the nation, through research methodologies of modern standards.
In his address, the director of the institute, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, said the workshop is meant to expose to sources of scholarship and grants, and how they can access them to gain knowledge on academic honesty, ethics in research and on issues of plagiarism. Ajayi added that the students will be exposed to a unified research methodology in peace and security research, public administration and corporate management.
In the first plenary session, the Provost, College of Postgraduate Studies, EKSU, Prof. Dipo Ogunleye, who spoke on Research Methodologies in Peace, Security and Governance, added that the idea is to teach how to write thesis in social science, looking at the importance of research, the structure, topic and how to identify a problem for solution.
Ogunleye said if there is no good methodology, nothing good will be achieved in any research, adding that in literature review, a researcher has to integrate everything in his or her research.
The study of Accountancy has received a boost at the Ekiti State University, (EKSU), Ado Ekiti and the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti with book donations by the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
The donations to the two state-owned institutions was a fulfillment of the promise made by the immediate past ANAN President, Dr. Shakirudeen Labode, when he paid courtesy visits to their managements two years ago.
Although Labode had finished his tenure, his successor, Mr. Anthony Nzom, ensured that the promise was fulfilled to expand the scope of learning and studying of Accountancy.
Nzom was represented at the event by Dr. Michael Ayeni, who was also accompanied by other top officials of the body, including the ANAN Chairman in Ekiti State, Mr. Femi Olatilu.
Their first port of call was the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, where the ANAN team was received by the Provost, Prof. Francesca Aladejana who was represented by her Deputy Dr. Olu Atunramu.
Nzom who said the books were donated to advance the science of Accountancy as a branch of knowledge, explained that the items are very current and would enrich the college library.
He explained that the books would not only help students acquire knowledge but assist them to develop the skills needed to practise Accountancy as a profession by the time they leave school.
Responding, Aladejana described the books as the ‘best gifts’ that could be given to the college at a time which coincides with the institution’s preparation for another round of accreditation. Aladejana hopes the books would not only be useful to students but also lecturers.
At EKSU, the ANAN team was received by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina, who was represented by his Deputy (Development), Prof. Olufemi Adeoluwa.
Nzom told Aina that ANAN operates a collegiate system through which its members are trained and examined to ensure that they blend their knowledge with skills.
He revealed that ANAN admits students after they might have adapted with either a Bachelor of Science or a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting before they undergo training for nine months.
He added: “We do not believe in half-baked accountants because we have our members working in your university here and you can attest to their efficiency and competence.
“Students should not turn the books to mirror; we want them to find treasures in these books for them to acquire knowledge.”
He promised that the books would further enhance knowledge of students studying Accountancy in the university. He said the university library is undergoing renovation to make it more conducive to learning and convenient for students.
By ANAN’s gesture, Aina said the body is giving good legacies to be enjoyed by the future generation, especially in Accounting.
The Ekiti State University (EKSU) Alumni Association has called on Governor Ayo Fayose to pay the salary arrears owed workers.
The association also demanded the constitution of a governing council to ease the burden and pressure on the governor in the day-to-day management of the university.
In a statement by EKSU Alumni Association president, Dr. Matthew Adedeji Ayeni, the body decried the incessant crisis rocking the institution, describing the phenomenon as “embarrassing”.
Three workers’ unions: Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), last week shut down the university to protest the non-payment of their three-month arrears.
The alumni association regretted that EKSU was facing a lot of challenges, which apparently lead to frequent industrial actions by the academic and non-academic staff.
The association noted that due to the perennial and incessant strikes, the number of students’ enrollment has dropped.
Nineteen students of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) will graduate with First Class degree as the institution’s convocation on Friday.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina, said this yesterday at a briefing to herald the week-long activities to mark the 20th convocation.
Aina named Tawose Olamide Tunde of the Mathematic Sciences Department as the Best Graduating Student with Cumulative Grade Points Average of 4.87.
Aina said 991 graduating students obtained Second Class Upper Division; 4451 got Second Class Lower Division; 1081 went home with Third Class and 58 Pass.
The VC said the convocation would cover 2012/2013 academic session, adding that due to the national strike by lecturers, the school lost the 2013/2014 session.
According to him, the convocation lecture will be delivered by eminent geologist and former National Merit Award Winner, Prof. Oluwafeyisola Adegoke.
He said the National Universities Commission (NUC) has given full accreditation to the EKSU College of Medicine, adding that the institution is also expecting accreditation of the college by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
