Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, has expelled one of its students, Oladipupo Siwajuola, weeks after his mother raised an alarm over his disappearance, accusing the institution of negligence.
The institution’s director of marketing and communication, Joshua Suleiman, confirmed the expulsion in a statement on Wednesday, citing the student’s involvement in “fetish practices, drug peddling, impersonation and other offences.”
Siwajuola’s case made headlines after his mother, Oyindamola Omotayo, took to Facebook on May 3 to declare him missing and demand accountability from the university.
Her viral post sparked outrage and concern on social media. However, the student was later found after reportedly sneaking off campus without authorisation.
Babcock revealed that Siwajuola had disguised himself in a hoodie and exited through the university’s teaching hospital gate without clearance.
Upon returning on May 15, he was invited by the department of secret service, where he allegedly made several confessions.
“Among them was the purchase of black soap from a traditional herbalist for N100,000, which contradicted his mother’s earlier claim that she had given it to him to treat a skin condition,” Suleiman said.
“Siwajuola admitted that the soap was intended for ritual purposes, as part of a ‘Yahoo Yahoo Plus’ scheme, a slang term for internet fraud mixed with fetish practices. He revealed he was engaging in fetish practices in an attempt to get rich quickly.”
Suleiman also disclosed that Siwajuola confessed to drug peddling, borrowing N500,000 from an online loan app to fund gambling and impersonating another student to open a bank account.
He reportedly sold his phone without authorisation and misled the buyer by claiming that his father had approved the sale.
Contrary to the mother’s claim that her son was found by his former secondary school friends, Babcock said it was the mother of a friend he stayed with in Lagos who alerted the family after recognising him and becoming aware of the controversy online.
After an internal investigation, the university found Siwajuola guilty of several offences including “unauthorised exit from campus, possession and use of fetish materials, drug peddling, impersonation and dishonesty, and unauthorised sale of personal property.”
“While we recognise the emotional weight of this decision, especially for the family involved, our foremost responsibility remains the safety and moral integrity of all students entrusted to our care,” Suleiman said.
He also addressed the mother’s Facebook outburst, calling it “sensational and misleading,” but said the university would not file a lawsuit due to the conduct of Siwajuola’s father.
“These claims were not only false but also misleading,” Suleiman stated.
“However, because of the responsible conduct shown by the student’s father, the university will not pursue a libel case at this time.”
