The leadership crisis at the Federal College of Education, Technical (FCET), Akoka, Lagos took a dramatic turn early Thursday morning when unidentified gunmen abducted the Deputy Registrar, Chris Olamiju, from his official residence.
Olamiju, a prominent figure among the protesting academic and non-academic staff against the continued tenure of Provost Dr. Wahab Azeez, was forcibly taken from his staff quarters around 3 am.
The assailants reportedly broke down his doors and dragged him away.
College sources, according to Vanguard, indicated that the gunmen entered Olamiju’s residence forcibly and abducted him. Some staff members suspect that the assailants may be operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
An anonymous source stated, “Staff at FCET, Akoka have been staging peaceful protests for five weeks due to serious allegations of administrative and financial misconduct against the Provost. At 3 am today, we received disturbing news that Mr. Chris Olamiju, a Deputy Registrar and protest leader, was brutally abducted in a Gestapo-style operation by gunmen believed to be DSS operatives. His family was assaulted, and documents, phones, and laptops were seized, causing chaos in the senior staff quarters.”
The Concerned Workers of FCET, Akoka, issued a statement demanding intervention from the DSS Director-General and concerned Nigerians to ensure Olamiju’s immediate and unconditional release. They warned that failure to address this issue could lead to a full-blown strike that may spread to other federal and state colleges of education in Nigeria.
Since May 27, the college has been in turmoil as staff and the provost clash over the expiration of Dr. Azeez’s tenure. Appointed in May 2019 for a four-year term and reappointed in May 2023, Azeez now faces opposition due to a new law signed by President Bola Tinubu in June, limiting provosts’ terms to a single five-year term.
The workers argue that Azeez’s tenure should end, having started in 2019, while Azeez claims the new law doesn’t apply to him. The college’s Governing Council is currently investigating the tenure issue and other allegations.
The abduction of Chris Olamiju has heightened tensions, and the academic community awaits further developments as the situation unfolds.
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
