By Fawaz Balogun

The Animal Welfare Students’ Club (AWSC), University of Ibadan, has condemned the alleged killing of a live chicken during the University of Ibadan Students’ Union Mr and Miss UI pageant.

The club made its position known in a statement co-signed by the Club President, Jimoh Uthman Olatunji, and Secretary General, Adegbenro Ireoluwa Favour, on Sunday, September 20, 2026.

According to the statement, the club became aware of a widely circulating video showing a contestant identified as “Obidare Taofeek Omobolaji” subjecting a live chicken to a “brutal and mutilating act” on stage in the presence of the audience.

“What was displayed on that stage was not entertainment. It was a public act of animal cruelty, carried out casually and without regard for the suffering of a sentient being,” the statement read.

“Chickens, like all animals, are capable of experiencing pain, fear, and distress. To inflict deliberate harm on a living animal for spectacle is indefensible, and to do so as part of a university event compounds the offence, since it lends the appearance of institutional endorsement to conduct that has no place on any stage, anywhere,” the statement added.

The AWSC further expressed concern that the incident allegedly occurred during a university student event, saying it raised questions about the standards guiding event planning and contestant conduct.

The club said it was particularly concerned about the absence of safeguards to prevent animals from being brought onto a stage and harmed for “shock value or amusement.”

The AWSC called on the UI Students’ Union to issue a public statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the presence and subsequent harm of the live animal at the event.

It also requested that the identified contestant, Obidare Taofeek Omobolaji, be engaged for sensitisation and education on animal welfare and humane handling.

In addition, the AWSC called on the Students’ Union, in conjunction with relevant University authorities, to establish guidelines prohibiting the use, display or harm of live animals during pageants, skits and other student events.

The club maintained that animal welfare should be regarded as part of the values upheld by the university community.

“Animal welfare is not a peripheral issue. It is a marker of the values a community chooses to uphold,” the statement said.

The AWSC added that it would continue to monitor developments concerning the matter while advocating for the humane treatment of animals.