Students of Technical College, Osogbo, on Wednesday embarked on a massive protest against alleged extortion by members of Peace Corps of Nigeria, stationed in the school as security personnel, DAILY PST reports.
The protest which almost degenerated to full-blown crisis started when a Peace Corps member detained a student identified as Bakare Hameed for coming late to school, and in the process dispossessed him of the sum of N6,000.
The student, thereafter, mobilised other students to confront the Peace Corps members, whose office is situated within the premises of Osogbo Grammar School, prompting an earlier insinuation that the students were at loggerheads with Osogbo Grammar school students.
Speaking with DAILY POST, Hammed complained of incessant extortion of students by members of Peace Corps, in the process of punishing them for lateness.
" These people are fond of extorting from us for coming late to school. I have explained to them times without number that my house is far from the school, which is always responsible for my lateness. I reside at Container, around Oke-baale.
"When I came late again today, the Peace Corps official detained me and collected the sum of N6,000 from me, the money is meant for part payment of my NABTEB exams.
"I later mobilised my friends to get my money back from him, which resulted to a fight, before these people (Members of Vigilante Group of Nigeria) came to arrest us," he explained.
The head of VGN in Osun, Mr Mukaila Oyedokun corroborated this and added that his men came around to douse the tension between members of the peace corps and students of the school, in which one of his men sustained injury.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Folashade Odoro simply responded thus when our reporter contacted her on the phone for comment; "We have been able to put the situation under control."
However, the Commandant of Peace Corps in the state, Mr Ayinde Paul Kayode, when contacted debunked the allegation of extortion by his men which triggered a violent reaction from the students, saying Peace Corps members were not involved in the imbroglio.
