>
By Emmanuel Adeleke
The management of Ajayi Crowther University has expelled some students of the institution for beating their colleague to death over alleged phone theft.
The yet-to-be identified student was reportedly clubbed to death inside a hostel known as Shepherd Inn on the school premises by a group of other students for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
It was gathered that the deceased was also said to have had his hair forcefully shaved by his assailants after he was reportedly caught with the stolen mobile phone.
According to reports, the deceased was beaten from 6pm on Friday to about 10am on Saturday.
“They said they caught him with a stolen phone. They started beating him from 6pm yesterday (Friday) until he died at about 10am today (Saturday),” a source was quotwd to have said.
Two different videos that were seen on social media showed the deceased rolling on the hostel floor while other students were beating him with sticks.
In one of the videos, one of the students was heard encouraging the other students to smack the deceased “harder, harder.”
Meanwhile, the management of the institution confirmed the incident in a statement credited to its spokesperson, Femi Atoyebi, on Saturday.
He explained that the deceased was accused of stealing a mobile phone, adding that the students suspected of having taken part in the alleged crime had been expelled and handed over to the police for prosecution.
“Contrary to what is trending, the university affirms that there is no cultism in the institution, just as the university has zero tolerance for any sort of anti-social vices and misconduct. It is important to stress that the expelled students do not belong to any cult group.
“What actually happened is that the deceased was alleged to have stolen a mobile telephone, but instead of reporting the issue to the university management, the expelled students could not control their emotions. Their actions led to the unfortunate death of the student.
“The university has taken swift action by handing over all the students involved to the Nigeria Police Force for investigation, with the assurance that justice will be served,” the statement read.