A Federal High Court in Ibadan has nullified the four semester suspension imposed on three University of Ibadan students punished for participating in a protest against a tuition fee increase, ordering their immediate reinstatement with full studentship rights restored from May 13, 2024.

Justice Nkeonye Maha, delivering judgment on Wednesday, held that the University of Ibadan's Central Student Disciplinary Committee failed to afford the students a fair hearing, rendering the sanctions legally void. "I hereby set aside the decision of the institution's disciplinary committee and order the reinstatement of the suspended students and restore their full studentship from May 13, 2024," the judge ruled.

The three students, Aduwo Ayodele, Mide Gbadegesin, and Nice Linus, were suspended on July 14, 2025, following their participation in a protest on May 13, 2024, during the inauguration of newly elected student union officials. The protest, triggered by a circular approving revised levies for undergraduate students in the 2023/2024 academic session, saw students carry placards demanding a reduction in fees.

At the disciplinary proceedings, the students argued they were denied the opportunity to call witnesses and present video footage of events from May 13, 2024. Justice Maha agreed, finding no evidence before the court that the protest disrupted the completion of the inauguration ceremony. The court also restrained the university and its agents from subjecting the applicants to further disciplinary action over the same matter.

Civil society organisation Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa welcomed the ruling and demanded that the university tender an unreserved apology to the students. The group cited court references to allegations that the students "were dragged out of the hall by the university's internal security and handed them over to a waiting mob who beat them to a stupor and insulted them," and that they were subsequently profiled as criminals and handed to soldiers of Operation Burst.

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa's Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, stated that "the court's decision sends an unequivocal message to the University of Ibadan and other oppressive academic institutions nationwide that tyranny and the use of authoritarian tactics to stifle legitimate dissent is unlawful, unacceptable and will not stand."

The students had also sought N20 million in damages and N5 million in exemplary damages for the infringement of their constitutional rights.