By: IndyPress News Desk

Nice Linus, a 300L student from the Faculty of Law, submitted a petition on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, against what she describes as an “unconstitutional exercise of power” by a management staff member, Deputy Registrar Mr. T. I. Musa, who also serves as the Chairman of the Students’ Union Electoral Commission.

The Deputy Registrar (Students), Mr. Musa, barred Nice Linus from taking office in the 12th Assembly of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC). The decision was communicated through a correspondence that replaced Nice with another student as Obafemi Awolowo’s Majority Leader.

As stated in her petition, Linus noted that her election as Majority Leader of the Obafemi Awolowo Hall Constituency was arbitrarily annulled under unclear circumstances, despite meeting all eligibility requirements and not being found guilty of any electoral misconduct.

Her SDC controversy traces back to a peaceful demonstration staged alongside two other students, Aduwo Ayodele and Mide Gbadegesin, on May 13, 2024.

The trio raised placards during the inauguration of the Students’ Union leaders, consciously calling on the Aweda Bolaji-led leadership to proactively lead the fight against the hike in fees.

According to Linus’s petition, the protest was non-disruptive and aimed at drawing the attention of the new leaders to students’ concerns.

However, the three students were allegedly manhandled, detained by security operatives, and subsequently summoned before a Fact-Finding Committee of the Students’ Disciplinary Committee (SDC).

Since appearing before the committee on July 2, 2024, Linus noted in the petition that no verdict has been communicated to her or the other affected students.

Despite no formal ruling of misconduct, she was recently disqualified from the SRC election, with the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Mr. T. I. Musa, calling her initial clearance an “oversight.”

“I find it unconstitutional for the Chairman of the Electoral Commission to have unilaterally instituted a change in the composition of the 12th Assembly of the Students’ Representative Council by removing me both as member of the council and as the majority leader-elect.”

“First, the University Regulation(s) alluded to by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission in the second paragraph of the Internal Memorandum was nowhere specified. Nowhere in the Senate regulations was it enacted that a student may be disqualified based on an unestablished case of misconduct.”

Linus argued that her disqualification contradicts the Students’ Union Constitution, which stipulates that only students found guilty of gross misconduct through a formal disciplinary process are ineligible to contest elections.

Nice petition insisted that since no ruling has been made on her case, her removal was unlawful.

“The Electoral Commission, of which Mr. T.I. Musa is Chairman, is a committee of students, constituted for students. Though headed by the Deputy Registrar, the Commission derives its powers from Article XII of the Students’ Union Constitution. While it has the power to reject the candidature of an aspirant, that can only happen before the election is concluded,” Linus stated in the petition.

Nice Linus resulting from the petition has demanded an immediate reversal of her disqualification and reinstatement into the 12th Assembly.

“Contrary to paragraph 2 of the internal memorandum on the SRC election for the 12th Assembly, directed to the Speaker of the 11th Assembly by the Deputy Registrar, Article X(v) of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union constitution, which speaks about election, states: “Any member of the Union who has been found guilty of gross misconduct as stipulated in the Student Information Handbook shall not be eligible to contest any Union election.”

“Contrary to the misinterpretation by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, this provision emphasizes that only a person who has been found guilty of gross misconduct is ineligible to contest an election. This means that such a person must have been invited to the Central Students’ Disciplinary Committee, found guilty at the hearing, and sentenced accordingly,” the petition reads.

Additionally, she called for the removal of Mr. Musa as Chairman of the Electoral Commission, citing incompetence and misinterpretation of student electoral laws.

“I request that the current Chairman of the Electoral Commission be deposed. This is premised on the fact that the Chairman has proven to be grossly uninformed about the law governing the Students’ Union Electoral Commission, which he heads, and has demonstrated an inability to properly handle student elections.”

As of the time of this report, the University of Ibadan administration is yet to issue an official response to the petition.