Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State — Tension gripped the campus of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), on Saturday as hundreds of students took to the streets to protest the gruesome killing of one of their own, Joy Adeyemi, allegedly by her boyfriend.
Adeyemi, a student in the Department of Human Kinetics, was declared missing on Tuesday.
Her decomposing body was discovered days later in the room of her boyfriend — an indigene of the host community — who reportedly fled after the incident.
According to students who joined the protest, the suspect had not only stabbed the victim to death but also allegedly made away with the earnings from her Point of Sale (POS) business.
The discovery of her body came after neighbours, alarmed by a foul smell from the suspect’s room, alerted local authorities.
Carrying placards with messages like “Stop killing us, AAUA students” and “The State Government must act now,” the protesters decried what they described as a disturbing pattern of attacks and killings targeting students, particularly by individuals from the university’s host community.
“This isn’t the first time this is happening,” said a student protester identified as Kunle. “Three weeks ago, two other students were kidnapped and murdered. Now this. Who is safe?”
The latest incident comes barely a month after the murder of two students — Andrel Okah (Department of History and International Studies) and John Abba (Department of Economics) — who were abducted and later killed. Police claimed to have arrested some suspects, though the alleged ringleader reportedly died in custody.
In a strongly worded statement, the Joint Campus Committee of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ondo Axis, described the murder as another blow to the student community.
The statement, signed by Comrades Adekanye Adeboye and Oladele Emmanuel, condemned the repeated violence against students and issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Ondo State Government and security agencies to act decisively.
“If nothing is done, we will mobilize a nationwide student protest right here in Ondo State,” the statement warned.
Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olusola Ayanlade, confirmed that three suspects had been arrested, while the alleged killer remains at large. “Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspect,” Ayanlade assured.
