Civil rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, alongside other activists and civil society organisations, has petitioned the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, urging an investigation into the alleged violent attack on participants of the #BringBackOurPupilsAndTeachers protest in Ibadan.
The petition, signed by Effiong, Tope Temokun, Oyo State Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Dimeji Salako, and representatives of other groups, accused the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Akinteye Babatunde, popularly known as Babtee, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s Senior Special Assistant on Students’ Affairs, Victor Olojede, and one Alimi Yusuf, also known as Decimal, of involvement in the incident.
Third Lens reports that the protest held on June 2, 2026, to demand urgent action for the rescue of abducted pupils, teachers and a school principal in Oyo State.
Demonstrators had commenced a peaceful march from Mokola and were heading towards Bodija from the University of Ibadan when they were chased by NANS members with gunshots heard being fired by the assailants.
The petitioners alleged that the attackers, led by Babtee, Olojede and Decimal, disrupted the procession and assaulted protesters.
During the incident, several protesters sustained injuries while vehicles belonging to participants were vandalised and personal belongings, including mobile phones, were lost.
The petitioners also noted that gunshots were fired during the incident, causing panic and forcing demonstrators to flee.
They further accused the suspects of physically assaulting Agidigbo FM journalist, Moshood Suara, who was covering the protest.
In an interview with Third Lens, Suara narrated how he was beaten and his clothes torn during the attack.
The petition also alleged that a photojournalist and documentarian, Odunayo Odedoyin, had her Fujifilm XT-1 camera with a Viltrox 35mm lens seized by the attackers.
Although the camera was later returned, the petitioners claimed it had been damaged and its memory card containing photographs and video evidence of the protest was missing.
They further alleged that Odedoyin was sexually harassed and forcibly taken into a vehicle identified as a NANS bus.
“While inside the vehicle, she was subjected to inappropriate sexual advances, intimidation and other degrading and humiliating conduct by some of the occupants. She was further pressured to surrender access to materials she had recorded during the protest,” the petition read.
The petitioners argued that the actions amounted to “unlawful abduction, wrongful restraint, sexual assault, intimidation, and a deliberate interference with press freedom and lawful journalistic activity.”
They urged the police to “immediately commence a thorough, impartial, and professional investigation into the incident,” identify and prosecute those responsible, investigate the use of firearms, recover stolen items and ensure justice for all victims.
NANS President and Makinde aide have denied being involved in any attack on protesters in different media interviews.
Other signatories to the petition include the African Action Congress, Youths Rights Campaign, Committee for Defence of Workers’ Rights and Education Rights Campaign.
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