Adeoluwa Igaga, a 16-year-old University of Ibadan student, has been released after being arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for discussing the #EndBadGovernance protest with his father in a phone call. His father, Mike Igaga, confirmed the release to SaharaReporters on Sunday, attributing it to the intervention of the University of Ibadan authorities. However, the DSS has mandated Adeoluwa to report back on Monday, indicating that the case is still ongoing.
“The DSS released him but said he should come back on Monday. This time, I am not sure the boy would go with the University of Ibadan Chief Security officer, they want him to come on his own. Imagine doing all this to a 16-year-old boy because of a phone conversation with his father,” he said. Mike Igaga is urging authorities to cease harassing his son, Adeoluwa, over a private phone conversation with his family.
The DSS arrested Adeoluwa, a 100-level Computer Science student, in connection with the upcoming #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest. Previously, SaharaReporters revealed that the university’s security unit handed Adeoluwa over to the secret police. As the son of Comrade Mike Igaga, former UI students’ union speaker, and cousin of the late NANS President Moses Oisakede, Adeoluwa’s family is speaking out against his unjust treatment.
According to sources, the DSS intercepted a phone call between Ikhuemoisa Adeoluwa Igaga and his father, Mike Igaga, during the University of Ibadan’s electricity protest two weeks ago. The conversation reportedly discussed the planned national protest against hunger, which led to Adeoluwa’s subsequent arrest. The Abuja DSS sent the phone call they spied to Ibadan DSS to arrest the boy. Can you imagine that in a democracy?
“The part one student was then picked up by the school’s CSO and handed over to the DSS,” a source told SaharaReporters at the weekend. “DSS is about to release the boy, but he’s now writing a statement at the UI security unit. DSS told him to come back on Monday,” another source said on Saturday.
This latest incident further fuels concerns about the government’s increasing crackdown on citizens who express their intention to participate in the upcoming protests scheduled for August 1-10, highlighting a worrying trend of suppression of free speech and assembly.