Court Frees 12 Ajayi Crowther Varsity Students Charged With Murder Of Fellow Student

TWELVE out of the 25 students of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, brought before an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, for alleged murder were on Monday (today) discharged.

On 5 June 2024, twenty-five (25) students of the institution were charged with conspiracy, murder and negligence. 

Eighteen-Eleven Media reports that the students allegedly caused the death of a fellow student identified as Jefry Akro.

It was gathered that the students attacked Jefry Akro after they allegedly caught him with a missing iPhone 12 Pro Max on Friday night, 24 May 2024. 

The students, who are residents of Shepherd’s Inn Hostel, allegedly stripped the deceased, shaved his head and gang-beat him from 10 pm on Friday to 6 am on Saturday.

Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olabisi Ogunkanmi, however, ordered the remand of the defendants in a correctional facility in Ibadan pending the outcome of legal advice.

The 12 discharged students are Kehinde Martins, Samuel Okorie, Mustapha Khalid, Yusuf Adeniran, Joseph Areoye, Iyanuoluwa Oyelakin, Obaloluwa Olalekan, Emmanuel Adejumobi, John Daudu, Moses Abiola, Hammad Tijani and David Kolawole.

Magistrate Ogunkanmi, while discharging them, held that the legal advice was out and indicated that the 12 students should not be charged with any offence as there was no evidence linking any of them with the alleged offence. 

One of the 25 defendants, who is a security guard at the university, Femi Oladoye, earlier charged with negligence of duty, was also granted bail in the sum of N250,000, with two sureties in like sum.

Magistrate Ogunkanmi, thereafter, adjourned the case till 8 July 2024 for mention.

Earlier, the prosecutor, CSP Funke Fawole, had told the court that the defendants committed the offence on 24 May at about 9 p.m. at the aforementioned university.

Fawole said that the defendants unlawfully caused the death of 22-year-old Jefry Akro, a student of the university, by beating him with planks and electric wire.

She said that Oladoye, as a security guard, however, failed to prevent the aggrieved students from beating Akro to death.

She said that the offence contravened sections 516, 515 and 324 of the Criminal Laws of Oyo State, 2000.

Eighteen-Eleven Media had on 26 May reported the sad development. The report quoted a source in the school who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter as saying that the deceased was beaten from 6 pm on Friday to about 10 am on Saturday.

“They said they caught him with a stolen phone. They started beating him from 6 pm yesterday (Friday) until he died at about 10 am today (Saturday).

“He was later abandoned in the rain, where he sadly passed away”. 

Jefry Akro, a 200-level Engineering student, was found dead in front of the hostel on Saturday morning.

Eighteen-Eleven Media