The students were arraigned yesterday before Chief Magistrate Adesoji Adegboye on a six-count charge bordering on rioting, illegal possession of firearms and malicious damage to university property. Police prosecutor Sgt Caleb Leramo told the court that the accused conspired to riot, possessed firearms, possessed military camouflage and damaged several school property. The offences, according to him, contravene Sections 516, 451 and 109 of the Criminal Code Cap 16 Laws of Ekiti State 2012. They pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them by the court clerk. Their counsel, Chris Omokhafe, prayed the court to grant them bail. But Leramo opposed the bail application on the grounds that granting them bail might jeopardise efforts to apprehend others who are still at large. Adegboye, however, ordered that the accused be remanded in police custody and adjourned ruling on their bail application till today. Some parents demanded for what they called “unreserved apology” from the management for the treatment meted out to their wards. The parents, who pleaded for anonymity, condemned the detention of their children at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at the police headquarters and other police stations in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. They claimed that their children were detained with criminals in dehumanising conditions. The concerned parents described their kids’ arrest and detention as “wicked and naked display of power”. They said: “This is the same university where there had been several cases of rapes, sedating and sexual assault, imposition of fines after students were caught in criminal acts, drug abuses and many others have reported and nothing was done just because they wanted to make money. “How can a university which is supposed to be a custodian of these students be embarking on indiscriminate arrests of innocent students and detain them with criminals. This is not fair and we demand unreserved apology from the management. “A senior police officer even assaulted a woman, whose child was detained. This is abnormal and unacceptable.” But ABUAD Head of Corporate Affairs Tunde Olofintila dismissed the parents’ allegations challenging them to come out and cite instances to substantiate their claims. Olofintila revealed that those who were found not to be culpable in the unrest had been released adding that many of the students are back on campus writing their examinations. He said: “I say with all sense of responsibility that we don’t have records of rape against any student of this institution. This is novel to us. “The issue of sedation for sex has never been reported to us as well. They are novel as far as this school is concerned. Whoever has been a victim should report to the management and it will be critically looked into. “Between the ages of 18 and 25, children all over the world experiment all manners of things. But whatever crimes they are perpetrating underneath were not known to us. “But there are rules you have to comply with and if you go against them, the management used to impose serious sanctions. “We do conduct snap check with security agencies on them, so we don’t harbour criminals and we have no record of any student keeping drugs in the hostel as alleged. “We give corrective and punitive measures to correct them. We are here to mould their lives and not to ruin them. “I am not aware of any fine being imposed. When you are caught in criminality activities, you are punished and if you need rehabilitation, we send you back to your parents for reformation.”]]>