By: IndyPress News Desk

Shoge Quadri, a 300-level Law student and Speaker of the Students’ Representative Council, University of Ibadan, has refused to immediately obey a court order, IndyPress reports.

In a memorandum addressed to honorable members of the Students’ Representative Council, dated March 29, 2025, and co-signed by two principal officers of the 12th Assembly, Shoge refused to comply immediately with the order of the High Court, Ibadan, which mandated the reinstatement of Nice Linus, a 300-level Law student, to the SRC.

The Speaker’s unilateral decision was based on post-election conventions that were not included in the electoral guidelines, unconstitutional, which also cannot override an ex parte application order of the court.

An ex parte application order is a court-issued directive that provides temporary relief without prior notice to the opposing party, usually in urgent cases requiring immediate action. It serves to grant interim relief, safeguard rights, and maintain the status quo until a full hearing occurs. Once granted, such orders must be complied with as issued by the court.

On March 19, 2025, the Federal High Court, Ibadan, granted Nice Linus an ex parte application suspending the student’s disqualification from the SRC by the University Deputy Registrar (Student), Mr. M.I. Musa.

In the release, Shoge Quadri outlined the conditions for Nice Linus’s reinstatement, which include: “duly elected and properly sworn in by the University of Ibadan management; issuance of an oath form by the University of Ibadan management, signed by Hon. Nice Linus; receipt of an internal memorandum from the university management notifying the Council of her swearing-in and assumption of office.”

“Regrettably, we have not received the necessary documentation to facilitate Hon. Nice Linus’s recognition as a member of the Council. Consequently, I cannot add her to the official group of the UI SU SRC 12th Assembly at this time,” Shoge wrote.

Shoge Quadri explained that Nice Linus’s removal from the SRC was carried out by the 11th Assembly, following a memorandum from the university management, and not by the current Council.

“An injunction is not a state of emergency declaration that enables the government to bypass the legal process to achieve peace and security. An injunction affords the opportunity to follow due process in carrying out a court order,” Shoge Quadri claimed.

Shoge nevertheless reiterated the Council’s commitment to obeying the law as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while advising Nice Linus to write to the “appropriate quarters” to have her issue addressed.

“We reiterate our commitment to following due process and obeying the law as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). To expedite the conclusion of Hon. Nice Linus’s recognition process by the Students’ Representative Council, I advise that her letter be directed to the appropriate quarters.”

IndyPress had reported that since Wednesday, March 26, 2025, Nice Linus had served the University with a Motion on Notice and a court order for the ex parte application granted by the court.

Reacting to the development, Segun Oladejo, a member of the Students’ Representative Council, decried the action of the Speaker of the council, describing it as unilateral and uncalled.

Honorable Oladejo stated that the order by the Federal High Court that Nice Linus be reinstated is beyond debate by the Speaker, including the Council.

“The letter sent by Honorable Nice is not addressed to the Speaker but SRC. The Speaker had no authority to unilaterally set a criteria for her reinstatement. Even at this point, the SRC has no right to decide if Nice is being reinstated or not. Why? Federal High Court has issued an order that Nice be reinstated. It is completely beyond the authority of the Speaker, even the SRC to now debate if Nice is to be added to the group. Anything that pertains to Nice’s reinstatement is beyond the authority of the SRC,” he said.

Another student, Ola Samuel, from the Faculty of Arts, described the Students’ Representative Council memorandum to the members of the council as ‘anti-students’ and ‘unsound’.

“This response from the UI SRC is not only an anti-student statement but also an obvious demonstration of leadership ineptitude. It is clear that the leadership of the SRC is completely out of its depth, they clearly do not know what they are doing. In a Union where unsound persons are not at the helm of authority, members will not be left alone to ‘fight their own battles’ or standalone at the forefront of peculiar issues like this. Rather than writing this joke of a statement, the leadership of the SRC should channel their energy to the appropriate offices into making the so-called ‘documentation’, if need be, available as early as possible. Their apparent indifference only further marginalizes the very members they are supposed to represent which is the clear opposite of what the Union really stands for,” Ola commented.

A postgraduate student, Michael Awoyemi, noted that the emphasis by Shoge Quadri was categorically flawed.

“The emphasis on due process by the speaker is flawed by the clause on the tribunal. The entire process, from suspension to this stage of giving criteria is fraudulent. There is also no sentence in the constitution that the management should swear students in. None of the conditions that the speaker mentioned is backed by the constitution,” Michael said.

“Article XII (IV) states that there shall be an Electoral Petition Tribunal set up by the Vice Chancellor and with the Dean of Students as Chairman. Any complaints after the election shall be referred to the Electoral Petition Tribunal for arbitration. All electoral petitions shall be heard and determined between 14 days of the election for the post in question. It reinforces the argument that the disqualification of Nice is wrong in its first place. The memo was beyond the 14 days.”