Students in Ogun State, on Monday, blocked the Mowe end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, to protest the “mysterious disappearance and possible murder” of a 2024 graduate of the Lagos State University, Ojoo, Quadri Adedamola Ogunbode.
The students, under the aegis of the National Association of Ogun State Students, said the protest was organised to draw the attention of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to the matter, which has left the parents of the victim in agony.
The protest halted vehicular movement on the expressway for more than one hour. Armed with placards and banners, the students chanted songs and demanded justice, asking the police to unravel the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the LASU graduate.
Ogunbode, a graduate of the Political/Education department of LASU, was reported to have gone missing on February 17, 2025, at a location close to a Celestial Church located in the neighbourhood of the university.
According to a preliminary police investigation, two suspects, including the Shepherd in charge of the Celestial Church, were arrested and questioned over the matter.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the protest, the NAOSS National President, Kehinde Thomas, said the protest was organised to show solidarity to the victim, who is a member of the association.
Thomas added that the protest was staged on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to draw the attention of the IG to the gravity of the matter, saying NAOSS is unsatisfied with the slow pace of police investigation.
He stated, “We, the leaders and members of the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Stakeholders in the state, are here this morning with heavy hearts.
“Heavy hearts, I say because one of us, a NAOSS member and a graduate of the Lagos State University, Ojoo, Quadri Ogunbode, is missing and probably not alive as we speak.
“Quadri, a forward-looking, hardworking and cool-headed Nigerian, disappeared mysteriously on February 17, 2025, a few seconds after he spoke with his girlfriend on the phone. This incident, according to our findings, happened in a neighbourhood very close to a Celestial Church around LASU Community in Lagos.
“We temporarily blocked this busiest expressway in the country in order to draw the attention of the Inspector-General of Police, who is also an indigene of Ogun State, Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene and order a special investigation into the case of the alleged kidnapping and possible murder of Quadri Ogunbode.
“This call on the IG, who is also a parent, to intervene in the matter had become imperative after police complicity and compromise were perceived. Quadri is a member of NAOSS, hence, we are appealing passionately to the IG to use his office, manpower and technology to unravel the disappearance of this affable and brilliant LASU graduate.”
