Okoli Ahinze, accused of stealing a phone, said to be victim of university’s ‘SMS punishment’ carried out among students
More than 15 students at one of Nigeria’s top universities, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife have been arrested over the death of a man who was attacked by a mob on campus.
Okoli Ahinze, a final-year civil engineering student at the University, was found dead on 11 April.
Ahinze, understood to be in his late 20s, was accused of stealing the phone of another student. Witnesses reported that he was beaten at the hostel where he was living by a group of students carrying out a form of punishment known as Scientific Maximum Shishi (SMS).
SMS, which appears to be unique to the university in the ancient city of Ile-Ife in Osun state, is carried out against students judged to have committed a crime on campus. Victims are usually beaten and publicly paraded around campus buildings and accommodation blocks.
News of Ahinze’s death prompted protests by students.John Akintunde, the general secretary of the technology and engineering students’ association, has written to the university’s dean of student affairs, demanding action to stop SMS on campus. The university has convened a panel to investigate the death.
In a statement, a university spokesperson said: “The administration of Obafemi Awolowo University has condemned, in strong terms, the incident that led to the death of a … student of the institution.
The death prompted protests at the university to end ‘Scientific Maximum Shishi’, a form of punishment carried out by students Photograph: Twitter
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the student died in a mob action on the allegation that he stole a phone. The action of the mob, being a violation of the law of the country and of the university regulations, has been reported to the police, who have commenced investigations.
“Students are strongly admonished to desist from taking laws into their own hands and to report any criminal activities to the university authorities for immediate action.”
Idowu Idowu, a student, said SMS needs to be stopped. “There was a day I heard the voice of a boy who was getting beaten in the secretariat by a group of students for one of those cases of theft. I was greatly disturbed … Instead of SMS, other modes of punishment can be integrated to teach offenders a transformative lesson.”
SMS is believed to have started after the murder of five students on campus in 1999, allegedly at the hands of members of a cult that was able to operate on campus.
Published in The Guardian (UK)
