A yet-to-be-identified male student of the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, in Oyo State, has allegedly been clubbed to death inside a hostel known as Shepherd Inn on the school premises by a group of other students for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
PUNCH Online reports that the deceased was also said to have had his hair forcefully shaved by his assailants after he was reportedly caught with the stolen mobile phone.
Our correspondent learnt from a source in the school who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter that the deceased was beaten from 6pm on Friday to about 10am on Saturday.
“They said they caught him with a stolen phone. They started beating him from 6pm yesterday (Friday) until he died at about 10am today (Saturday).
The incident happened at ‘Shepherd Inn’. It’s like a lodge or a hostel now. They also shaved the hair of the guy before beating him,” he said.
Two different videos that were shared with our correspondent on Saturday night showed the deceased rolling on the hostel floor while other students were beating him with sticks.
In one of the recordings, one of the students was heard encouraging the other student to smack the deceased “harder, harder.”
Meanwhile, the varsity management confirmed the incident in a statement credited to the spokesperson, Femi Atoyebi, published by the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday.
The statement said the students suspected of having taken part in the alleged crime had been expelled and handed over to the police for prosecution.
Atoyebi said, “Contrary to what is trending, the university affirms that there is no cultism in the institution, just as the university has zero tolerance for any sort of anti-societal vices and misconduct.
“It is important to stress that the expelled students do not belong to any cult group.