‘He’s Our Helper’— Flogged Students Defend Suspended Kwara Poly Lecturer, Seek His Reinstatement

Some of the students flogged by a lecturer at Kwara State Polytechnic have appealed to the institution's management to recall the suspended academic, insisting that he acted in their interest and helped them avoid missing their examinations.

The students made the appeal in separate reactions to a Facebook post by the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Akinteye Babatunde, who had condemned the incident and called for sanctions against the lecturer.

The lecturer was suspended by the school management after a viral video showed him caning candidates of the Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) programme who had reportedly arrived late for an examination.

However, some of the affected candidates have now defended the lecturer, arguing that the punishment, though harsh, enabled them to sit for the examination.

One of the students, Mubarokah Omobisola Alao, who identified herself as one of those flogged in the video, said the lecturer's intervention saved them from being barred from the examination hall.

"I am among those that were flogged yesterday. The action taken, though harsh, was the only reason we were permitted to write the exam," she wrote.

According to her, the affected students are not seeking any disciplinary action against the lecturer and are instead grateful for his intervention.

"We are not complaining and we're actually grateful because without his intervention, we would have been denied the opportunity to sit for the examination.

"We humbly plead that the circumstances be reconsidered because the intention was not to harm us but to ensure we don't miss the exam, and we, the affected students, are not demanding disciplinary action against him," she added.

Another candidate, identified as Daniel Wú Rá Ölä, also defended the lecturer, saying the incident had been misconstrued by the public.

"This is not the complete narrative. He was only trying to help us. We are IJMB students, not Kwara Poly students. We were late for the exams and the invigilators would not have allowed us in," she stated.

According to her, the lecturer, who is the programme director, intervened after the students arrived beyond the permissible time for entry into the examination hall.

"The director decided to intervene and flogged us, which we didn't even mind because we just wanted to write our exams.

"He didn't do anything wrong; instead, he helped us because it is stated that once you're 30 minutes late, you shouldn't be allowed in the hall again. So we rather he flogged us than be denied our exams," she wrote.

The comments came after NANS President, Akinteye, described the incident as unacceptable and insisted that students should never be subjected to physical punishment.

"A lecturer in Kwara State Polytechnic asked IJMB students to kneel down and he beat them up with a cane. Such act is condemnable. Students are not animals and should never be treated as such," he had said.

Following public outrage over the video, the management of Kwara State Polytechnic clarified that those involved were IJMB candidates and not regular students of the institution.

The polytechnic condemned the lecturer's actions, describing the method of discipline as inappropriate and contrary to the institution's values of respect and constructive engagement.

"The Polytechnic Management therefore suspends the concerned lecturer from his duties pending the outcome of the findings on this matter," the institution said in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Halimat Garba.

The management also assured stakeholders that a full investigation was underway and pledged to take steps to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.