Students of the Government Technical College, Osogbo, Osun State, yesterday staged a protest over alleged extortion of late comers to school by men of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) and volunteers of the Nigeria Peace Corps (NPC).

Some students alleged that the security men usually collect money and sometimes phones from students that come late to school. They staged a protest to resist this extortion but the protest degenerated into a clash between the security men and the students.

The students’ protest led to pandemonium as they stormed the road and blocked the Olusegun Obasanjo Highway, which caused traffic gridlock in the area. The situation compelled commuters and passers-by to divert their movement while the residents of the area became apprehensive.

As students of Government Technical College advanced towards the Osogbo High School, the situation became worse as their counterparts in the High School trooped out to repel the protesters so as to prevent the destruction of properties in their own school.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye, told our correspondent that policemen were deployed to the area immediately and that the situation has been brought under control.

Operatives of the Department of the State Services (DSS) and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were also sighted at the scene trying to maintain law and order.

In a chat with our Correspondent, the Commandant of Peace Corps in the state, Mr Ayinde Paul Kayode, explained that his men were not extorting the students. He said the students targeted the VGN members but mistook the Nigeria Peace Corps volunteers for the vigilantes.

“My men would never extort any student. They dare not do that. We have never received a report of extortion against NPC volunteers before. This incident is a situation of mistaken identity. The students actually targeted the VGN men and the protesters injured three vigilantes while none of the NPC volunteers sustained injury,” Ayinde said.

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