Twenty-one students of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), who were detained by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission last Thursday, have been released.
The arrest of the students in their respective hostels in the Oke Baale area of Osogbo by a team from the Ibadan zonal office of the anti-graft agency led to a protest by their fellow students, who blocked the Osogbo/Ibokun Road and set up bonfires.
They were later calmed by men of the Osun State Police Command, who cleared all the items used to block the road.
The students were later released after they were profiled by the EFCC operatives in Ibadan.
One of the sources revealed that the social media accounts of the students and their mobile phones and other gadgets were ccombed and were found not to be involved in Internet fraud.
It was also learnt that a staff of the institution, whose identityremains anonymous, who was arrested for recording how the students were being arrested, had also been freed.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration and Development, UniOsun, Prof. Janet Olaitan, confirmed the release of the students.
“So far, so good; all the 21 students arrested have been released,” she stated.
Remarking on the release of their fellow students, two undergraduates of the institution, who preferred anonymity, condemned the anti-graft body for the way their mates were apprehended.
They alleged that the concerned students were arrested without any valid evidence linking them to Internet fraud as alleged by the EFCC, adding that releasing them without pressing charges was a confirmation of the allegation of incessant harassment of students by security operatives.
They however, called for synergy between the university’s management andall security operatives to fish out those students engaging in criminal activities.