On Monday, the 14th of June, 2021, news of a fight between some students of LAUTECH and an Islamic body of the school- MSSN- broke out, leaving many to pick sides and question the mission of the said body.
It was reported that in the early hours of Monday, three Muslim male students who claimed to be agents of Al-Barakah hostel, Under G, visited a resident of the hostel, Fikayo, who has a pet dog. The intent of the visit was to take her dog away, but her resistance led to an uproar that left many injured.
To clarify matters, members of UCJ LAUTECH reached out to the lady in question- Fikayo. According to her, complaints have been made to her by the hostel agent to get her dog out of the hostel or move out because the landlord forbids dog rearing in the hostel.
“My dog is a small one, and the cage was right outside my room, so when he complained about it, I kept my dog in my toilet to avoid any problem”, she said.
Fikayo further stated that she had reported the issue to the Dean of Student Affairs 3 weeks before the day pandemonium broke loose.
On reporting to the DSA, she was told she would have to get a refund from the agent to avoid cheating. Fikayo mentioned that she had paid rent for a year but had only spent six months. Since the agent didn’t inform her of the rule before moving in, the DSA mentioned that the agent would have to refund half of her rent if she moved out.
“After I reported this issue to the DSA, the agent didn’t mention anything about refunding me until they came on Sunday night, and I didn’t even talk to them.”
“They came back on Monday morning, and after I refused to open the door because I wasn’t putting on clothes, they hit me when they were able to push my door open. I called my brother immediately, and he informed the police before he and his friends came to my hostel”.
” On arrival, my brother held one of the guys hostage and asked that all the hostel gates be locked until the police show up. But after a few minutes, we noticed that these people had come in numbers with cutlasses and pipes. They jumped in through the fence, and the whole commotion started.”
“My brothers didn’t hit any of them, but still they broke in through the ceiling to mar my brother and his friends who were only 5. We called the operation burst, but these people were released after they had written an undertaking”, Fikayo narrated.
UCJ LAUTECH reached out to the Amir of MSSN LAUTECH to clarify the issue that seems to have carried the organization’s name. However, there was no reply. The memo sent by MSSN LAUTECH to the general community though stated that the body was never a perpetrator, but some Muslim students were involved.
“The attention of the leadership of MSSN LAUTECH has been drawn to some ill comments being circulated about the society. On the turmoil and uproar that occurred earlier today, be informed that MSSN LAUTECH was never a perpetrator. All information in circulation are nothing but aspersion – an apparent means of staining the society’s image – and should be treated as such, and consequently disregarded.”
“Truly, some Muslim brothers were involved in the incident, but MSSN LAUTECH as a body was never involved in the commotion. Members of the university community are, the
, enjoined to remain calm and unmind all false accusations, “the memo said.
In an interview with LAUTECH’s DSA, he confirmed that Fikayo had brought the issue to his notice some weeks back. Then he had reached out to the agent, and it was said that she either takes the dog away from the hostel or she moves out, an option to which a refund of her house rent is included. He thought they had settled things until he heard about the incident that took place on Monday.
He stated that in his investigation at the hospital, he found out that most of those who got injured were from the lady’s side, and the ones from the agent’s side were not students. “The case is more or less a police- agent and the lady’s case”, DSA stated.
The DSA further mentioned that they could have handled the matter in a more mature manner such that the incident that happened would have been totally avoided. He said, “If they wanted her out within 24hours, the best thing they could have done was come to me, and I’ll also make sure the conditions the lady wants are met”.
“According to what I heard and to the best of my knowledge, when the agent came around and the lady saw that they were banging on her door for her to come out, she called some guys who met them in the passage and locked the door. The agents’ believe they have been overpowered and went to call for Muslim students for additional help. When these people came around, they were not given access to come inside as the door was closed, so they had to break the ceiling and enter through it”.
When asked about what the school is doing about the issue, he said the best body to handle the matter- the police- have been involved, and the case is under investigation.
UCJ LAUTECH is currently making an effort to speak to the agent, the injured brothers and other witnesses.
