Press Under Siege In OSPOLY As Campus Journalist Faces Threats For Reporting Withheld Results Story
A student journalist at Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Asiyanbi Abraham has alleged threats and intimidation from certain quarters within the institution following his report on withheld results of four students.
Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, Abraham, who is the Editor of the NAMACOS Editorial Board (NEB), said that some individuals within the Mass Communication department pressured him to publish a rejoinder favouring the institution’s management.
Abraham’s report, published on May 8, 2025, was based on a press statement by former Students’ Union President, Ambassador Samson Ajao, titled “Mr. Kehinde Alabi, Tyrant OSPOLY Rector, Should Release Students’ Withheld Results.”
Asiyanbi alleged that he was summoned, insulted, and pressured to publish a rejoinder that would paint the school administration in a favourable light—an act he resisted.
He further stated that there were threats to silence or outrightly ban the NEB, a campus press organisation that has operated for over a decade.
In response to the alleged threats, Ajayi Folaranmi, a former NEB Editor and education advocate, issued an open letter condemning the intimidation and urging the institution’s management to uphold press freedom and address the concerns raised.
In the letter, Enigma accused the Mass Communication department of hypocrisy, stating that it cannot, on one hand, teach students media ethics and on the other hand, punish them for exercising such ethics.
Efforts to reach the institution’s management for comments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
Anuoluwapo Lebi is an ethical and aplomb journalist, zealous for good and ethical journalism practices. His love for investigative journalism is divine and has carved his interest in other topics, including crime, politics, campus, culture, science, community development, and creative writing.
