‘I was abducted, pelted, forced to trek’ — ex-VC Lilian Salami recalls UNIBEN protests

Lilian Salami, the outgoing vice-chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has recounted how students of the institution pelted her and forced her to read a script during a campus protest.

Protests have, on several occasions, erupted in UNIBEN over various issues affecting the student community on campus.

In October, the institution’s management appointed Edoba Omoregie, a specialist in constitutional law and governance, as the new VC of the institution to take over from Salami.

Salami, before exiting office, authored a memoir where she recounted lessons and experiences from her time governing the federal university.

The outgoing VC recalled how students of the institution, during a protest, pelted her with sachet water and ordered her to read a script after them.

She alleged that the protest was among the many that were masterminded by a cabal during her tenure as the head of the university.

Salami recalled that the varsity council had decided to raise the penalty for late payment of sessional fees, a move that prompted outrage on campus.

She recalled that all efforts by the dean of student affairs to quell the demonstrations were to no avail.

Salami said the institution’s chief security officer, the police divisional officer, and the area commander had visited and urged her to reverse the decision but she stood her ground.

“The students took to the expressway with musicians providing music for them and caterers cooking on the highway,” the outgoing VC narrated.

“On the third day, they had decided to abduct me, forcing me to come to the highway to address them. The DCP, DPO, as well as security officials, were in my house asking me to address the students, assuring me of my safety.

“By this time, the mob had pulled down my chain-wire fence and dragged me out of my official residence to force me to trek to the main gate.

“Somehow, some of them advised against trekking. So, I was allowed to ride in my Hilux van with students sitting on the hood, bonnet and windows.

“Guns were brandished and some were shown to me under their shirts. Finally, as I got to the main gate, I was forced to climb on the Hilux van and directed to repeat an address after one of the ring leaders, which I did.

“At that point, some pure water sachets were thrown at me. After reading the address and ensuring that the ICT unit had complied, I was let go. I was taken to the DPOs and then to the CP’s offices. The CP later booked my one-night stay in a hotel.”

Salami alleged that the cabals seeking to discredit her administration sponsored students and some academic staff to protest against her.

The purpose of the protest, she claimed, was to create the impression that she was inept and incapable of running the institution.

“They claim that in the past, they were adequately compensated with money, with some of them on the payroll, while others got cash for unexecuted contracts. Still, others were given admission and hostel accommodation slots in place of cash,” Salami recounted.

“A couple of groups had reached out to me to be educated and initiated into the cabal groups, which I politely declined.

“These were unarguably the platforms and persons who apparently might have vowed to continuously cause unrest during the tenure of my administration.”

In her memoir, Salami wrote that an investigation had indicated that her security was compromised, with some professors complicit.

Lilian Salami was slated to hand over office to her successor on December 1, ending her five-year tenure as VC.