Staff and students of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) rallied at the residence of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Joshua Olalekan Ogunwole on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, after police officers reportedly arrived early in the morning to take him into custody.
The incident occurred at the vice-chancellor’s official residence in Ado-Ekiti and quickly attracted academic and non-academic staff, as well as students who gathered in solidarity with the university’s chief executive.
Ogunwole said the officers arrived at about 6:10 a.m., shortly after he had gone to bed at around 3 a.m. He told supporters that his children first alerted him after noticing security personnel around the residence.
According to the vice-chancellor, he initially stayed inside because he was uncertain whether the men were genuine police officers and wanted clarification about their mission.
He later said the officers informed him that they had an arrest warrant.
The account could not immediately be independently verified through a publicly available police statement.
The reported arrest attempt triggered a rapid response from several staff unions within the university.
The FUOYE chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), led by its chairman, Dr Ojo Fagbuagun, said members mobilised after learning that police officers were at the vice-chancellor’s residence.
Fagbuagun alleged that some individuals associated with the university’s previous administration were unhappy with reforms introduced under Ogunwole.
He also raised allegations concerning staff promotions and the management of university funds. Those allegations were not independently established in the reports reviewed for this story.
The ASUU chairman further alleged that petitions to the police had been used to address disputes involving the university’s leadership, arguing that such matters should instead pass through appropriate institutional channels.
The allegations and counterclaims surrounding the university’s internal affairs remain subject to verification.
Other staff unions also joined the mobilisation around the vice-chancellor’s residence.
The FUOYE branch chairman of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Comrade Oluwashola Babafemi, said members participated because they wanted to protect the stability of the institution.
Similarly, the secretary of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Comrade Emmanuel Adegun, said union members moved to the residence after receiving information about the police presence.
The development comes against the backdrop of Ogunwole’s ongoing administration at FUOYE, where the university has publicly highlighted measures targeting misconduct, student extortion and other disciplinary issues.
In May, FUOYE reported that Ogunwole had secured the backing of several campus unions for measures against illegal collections from students and sex-for-grades practices.
The university said the administration intended to strengthen accountability while improving security and institutional discipline.
FUOYE Director of Public Affairs and Communication, Dr Sunday Saanu, also criticised the development.
Saanu said Ogunwole had previously responded to a police invitation, making the reported appearance of officers at his residence unexpected from the university’s perspective.
The vice-chancellor subsequently directed his lawyers to handle the matter, according to the report.
Ogunwole later addressed workers and urged them not to allow the confrontation to distract the university from its activities.
He maintained that the administration’s reform programme would continue despite the incident.
The episode therefore ended without a reported arrest of the vice-chancellor at his residence, although the circumstances surrounding the police action remained unclear as of Wednesday.
The latest development is particularly notable because it follows an earlier controversy involving reports that Ogunwole had been arrested after serving as the Chief Returning Officer for the Osun State governorship election.
FUOYE management denied those reports in August, saying the vice-chancellor had not been arrested, detained or invited by any security agency over his election duties. The university said he had travelled to Abuja for official university business.
FUOYE’s official website identifies Ogunwole as the institution’s vice-chancellor and describes the Vice-Chancellor’s Office as the university’s central administrative and academic coordination office.
The latest incident raises questions about the nature of the police action, the existence and scope of any warrant reportedly presented to the vice-chancellor, and whether further legal or institutional steps will follow.
As of publication, no independently verified statement from the police explaining the reason for the reported arrest attempt was available in the sources reviewed.
