By A convention meant to bring together student leaders from across Osun State ended in tragedy on Saturday when a student of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, was fatally stabbed at the venue in Osogbo.
What Happened
The victim, Ademiju Ayeni, a student of the Estate Management department popularly known among peers as Jago, was attending the convention of the National Association of Nigerian Students’ Joint Campus Committee, Osun State Chapter, when he was stabbed. Multiple people who attended the event told reporters the attacker was a member of the programme’s own security committee.
One NANS South-West official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the security committee member, who was armed with a knife, stabbed Ayeni while attempting to stop him from entering the convention venue. According to the official, Ayeni was rushed to a private hospital in Osogbo where he was confirmed dead, after which his body was moved to the morgue at Osun State University Teaching Hospital. The case has since been reported at the Dada Estate Police Station.
The Police Account
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, gave a somewhat different sequence of events when he spoke with reporters. He said an earlier disagreement had broken out during the convention, which was being held at the state NUJ Press Centre, involving Ayeni and some other attendees, but that the dispute appeared to have been settled before proceedings continued. It was only afterward, Ojelabi said, that Ayeni began complaining of chest pain and was rushed to hospital, where an examination revealed a stab wound to his chest. He confirmed that Ayeni died shortly after and that his body had been deposited for an autopsy, though he said he could not confirm whether anyone had yet been arrested in connection with the killing.
A Cult Connection Alleged
A different account came from Josiah Adeyemo, the NANS South-West Coordinator, who described the killing as cult-related based on information reaching him, though he said the identity of the alleged attacker remained unknown. He noted that the convention itself had otherwise proceeded without incident, leaving him unable to explain what triggered the confrontation that broke out near the gate.
What Remains Unclear
The accounts agree that Jago died from a stab wound sustained at or near the convention venue, but differ on the sequence of events leading up to it, whether the fatal incident was tied to the earlier disagreement Ojelabi described or was a separate, cult-linked confrontation as alleged by Adeyemo. With an autopsy pending and no arrest yet confirmed, key details about who was responsible and why remain unresolved.
