The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reaffirmed its earlier sanction on academic collaborations placed on the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos, over wrongful dismissal of five lecturers of the institution.

The decision was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union held at the University of Ibadan (UI). The council, at the meeting, resolved that until five of its members who were “wrongfully” sacked by LASU management are recalled, ASUU should stop “sabbatical leave, part-time lecture, external examinations and assessments, conferences, workshops, research collaborations and visitations to and from LASU.”

The union insisted that it would continue to support the affected lecturers until they are reinstated and directed the LASU branch to furnish the national secretariat with up-to-date report on the issue.

Following the council’s resolution on the matter, the National President of the union, Emmanuel Osodeke, called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reinstate the lecturers who were “unjustly” dismissed in 2019.

Osodeke, in a statement, expressed disappointment with the government over its failure to release the White Paper on the visitation panel to LASU more than two years after the exercise.” He said: “The seeming conspiracy of silence on this matter is unbecoming of a democratically-elected government. We therefore call on governor Sanwo-Olu to do the right thing at LASU and ensure the recall of our unjustly sacked colleagues,” he added.

The affected lecturers are Isaac Oyewumi, Adebowale Adeyemi-Suenu; Anthony Dansu; Adeolu Oyekan; and Oluwakemi Aboderin-Shonibare. They were accused of unauthorised removal, retention and dissemination of official documents and subsequently sacked.

In February 2022, the David Sunmonu-led governing council of the university reinstated the lecturers after an appeal committee headed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Adenike Boyo, cleared them of all offences and recommended their reinstatement.

But in a strange move, 48 hours after the governing council approved its appeal committee’s recommendation, the same council ruled to put the recall of the lecturers on hold.

In May, some residents of Ikoga-Zebbe in Badagry Local Council, the hometown of Dansu, one of the dismissed lecturers, protested and appealled to the state government to recall the sacked lecturers.

In July, they also issued a statement to drive home their demand, but the government has continued to ignore their appeal. Similarly, ASUU expressed displeasure with the unwillingness of university visitors to resolve lingering management crises and victimisation in public institutions, such as the Kogi State University, Ebonyi State University, Lagos State University, Ambroise Alli University, Federal University of Technology Owerri, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.

“In these and other universities, our members are being victimised through such avenues as illegal termination of appointments, withholding of salaries, and lack of promotion,” Osodeke said.