A final year student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, has been allegedly shot dead by operatives of the Amotekun corps. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, led to a protest by students of the institution, who took to the streets of Akure, the state capital, to demand justice for the deceased.
According to reports, the deceased, identified as Tope Elijah, was attending a wedding ceremony when the operatives of Amotekun suddenly shot into the air to celebrate the groom, who happened to be one of them. It was the gunshot that eventually killed the FUTA student.
The President of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Ondo state chapter, Akinọla Elijah Temitope, called on the authorities of the corps to identify and hand over the officer responsible for the death of the student to the police for prosecution. He further urged Amotekun to act within 48 hours, failure of which would result in another round of protests.
This is not the first time that Amotekun operatives have been accused of killing a student in Ondo state. In July 2022, students of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, protested the killing of Folarera Ademola, an ND1 student of the Department of Science Laboratory Technology, allegedly by an operative of the Amotekun Corps.
The protest was led by the President of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Ondo state chapter, who blocked major roads in Akure, including the one leading to the Governor’s office in the state capital.
As at the time of filing this report, efforts to speak with the authorities of Amotekun have proved abortive. The incident has once again brought to the fore the issue of extrajudicial killings by security operatives in Nigeria, and the need for the government to take decisive action to put an end to it