- By Abdulfatah Robiu
Students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), on Thursday, held solemn activities in remembrance of George Iwilade Afrika and four other students brutally murdered on campus exactly 26 years ago in what remains one of the darkest days in the university’s history.
The five students, including George Iwilade (Afrika), Eviano Ekelemu, Yemi Ajiteru, Babatunde Oke, and Ekpede Godfrey, were gunned down in the early hours of July 10, 1999, by suspected members of the Black Axe Confraternity.
The attack, which took place at the Awolowo Hall of Residence, left several others injured and sent shockwaves across the nation.
At the time, Afrika was a 400-level Law student and the Secretary-General of the Students’ Union. Alongside the others killed, he had been part of a growing student movement against cultism and alleged oppressive policies of the university management.
The massacre, which is widely believed to have been politically motivated, sparked national outrage and a renewed anti-cultism movement resolved on OAU campus.
Though 26 years have passed, the pain and memory remain fresh for the Great Ife community.
Students mark the day with a series of commemorative events including an anti-cultism walk and freedom advocacy campaign led by the just elected Central Executive Council (CEC) members.
In a statement issued by the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), signed by Hon. Awe Ademola, Speaker-elect; Hon. Nasir Hameed, Deputy Speaker-elect; and Hon. Ayeni Deborah, Clerk-elect; the students described July 10 not just as a day of mourning, but a call to renewed commitment in the fight against cultism and for the protection of freedom, truth, and justice on campus.
“July 10 is more than a date, it is a reminder, a wound, a legacy,” the SRC said in the statement titled ‘In Honour of Sacrifice, In Defence of Freedom.’
“We remember George Iwilade Afrika, Eviano Ekelemu, Yemi Ajiteru, Babatunde Oke and Ekpede Godfrey, the fallen comrades — young, vibrant, full of promise — who laid down their lives for a campus that would one day be free from fear and cult oppression,” the statement read.
The SRC emphasised that the fight against cultism is a collective duty that extends beyond the tragedy of 1999, urging students to speak out and take action whenever they sense danger or injustice.
“Cultism doesn’t always knock with violence — it sometimes creeps in with quiet influence, familiar faces, or dangerous silence. We must not look away. We must not stay silent. Speak out. Stand firm. Raise the alarm when something feels off,” the SRC charged.
The leadership also made a call for unity, reflection, and bold resistance against any attempt to reintroduce cultism into the campus.
“The memory of Afrika must not become a ritual we recite once a year, it must become a culture we live in every day.”
The post July 10: OAU Students Remember Afrika, Four Others 26 Years After Massacre appeared first on OsunDefender.
