There is a gap in the public account of what happened to Ademiju Ayeni, a student of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, popularly known as “Jago”, who was stabbed to death on August 28 in Osogbo during the National Association of Nigerian Students, Joint Campus Committee, Osun State Chapter (NANS JCC).
One account says his death was unrelated to the NANS JCC Osun Convention. Another statement from the newly elected NANS JCC Osun leadership said the incident happened around the convention’s vicinity. A petition to the police alleges that Ayeni was stabbed at the NUJ Press Centre, where the convention was organised, shortly before the convention and later died after being taken to hospital.
Between those accounts is a question that has yet to receive a clear, independently verified answer: who stabbed Ayeni among the security committee at the convention? NANS JCC Osun has the responsibility to identify the attacker so that justice can be served. Ayeni could not have stabbed himself.
The distinction essentially matters. A person can be injured in one location and die somewhere else. Consequently, establishing the place of death does not, on its own, establish who orchestrated the injury that led to the death of a 24-year-old student in his prime.
NANS has said it considered the circumstances surrounding his death unrelated to the convention and warned against attributing the death to the event without verified evidence. But the language in a separate statement from the newly elected NANS JCC Osun leadership is different.
The leadership referred to a “reported incident around the vicinity of the recently concluded convention”. The officials did not say they witnessed the incident. Instead, they explained that they were occupied with the election and only became aware of what had happened afterwards.
Their statement was primarily a call for calm. They asked students and other stakeholders to reject retaliation and avoid spreading accounts that had not been verified. Yet the phrase “around the vicinity” leaves the central issue open. What was the incident? And who did what “around the vicinity”?
The answer offered in the petition by Concerned Students is specific, though still unproven.
According to the August 29 petition to the Osun State Commissioner of Police, the incident occurred at the NUJ Press Centre, Osogbo, shortly before the NANS JCC Osun Convention.
The petition alleges that an altercation took place and that Ayeni was stabbed. The petition then follows his reported movement away from the scene. It claims he was taken to LAUTECH Hospital but was rejected, after which he was taken to Mercyland Hospital along Olude, Osogbo, where he passed away.
That sequence, as noted in the petition, separates two events that have become compressed in public discussion: the alleged attack and the eventual death.
The petition asks the police to investigate the circumstances of the altercation, identify the alleged assailant, establish how people gained access to the venue and examine questions surrounding security tags reportedly associated with the convention.
It also points investigators towards people who may have information about Ayeni’s movements and the incident. One of those named is Olalekan Rokeeb Olabamiji, whom the petition describes as an eyewitness and says accompanied Ayeni during events following the incident.
Another is Ajani Olanrewaju, popularly known as “Fabulous”, whom the petition says brought Ayeni from Iree to Osogbo. The petition’s references to these individuals are not findings of guilt. They are requests that people believed to have relevant information be questioned.
NANS Accounts
The NANS account challenges the reported connection between Ayeni’s death and the convention. The new NANS JCC Osun leadership acknowledges the reported incident near the event. The petition alleges a stabbing and traces Ayeni’s reported journey to medical facilities before his death.
None of these documents provides a complete, independently verified account of the most important question, which is who among the security committee of NANS JCC Osun did it?
Knowing who stabbed him, where the injury occurred, how it happened and what ultimately caused the death is central to understanding what happened to him and bringing the perpetrator to justice.
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