The suspended Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Dr Banji Olaleye, has alleged that his suspension over an extortion scandal was the culmination of a long-standing plot to remove him from office.

Olaleye was suspended alongside the Director of the Directorate of Educational Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Olanrewaju Ogunjobi, and the Students’ Union Government President, James Adio, after a petition accused them and others of extorting 100-level students through the unauthorised collection of N1,000 each.

In an interview, Olaleye insisted that the action against him preceded any thorough investigation and was driven by hostility from the current university administration, which he claimed had been uncomfortable with him since it came on board.

He said the new leadership had repeatedly signalled that it did not want to work with him, allegedly because of a perception that he did not support the emergence of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor. According to him, he had already prepared to leave his post at the end of July, when the tenure of political appointees was due to lapse, before the controversy erupted.

Olaleye traced the crisis to a dispute over entrepreneurship practicals and the N1,000 fee demanded from students. He maintained that he had no formal role in the entrepreneurship programme and only became involved after the Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Temitope Babalola, asked him to mediate between the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and student leaders.

Following meetings with the Students’ Union and faculty executives, he said he contacted the directorate, which explained that the fee was introduced because funds for practical sessions had not been released by management. Olaleye said he was then asked to help ensure that class representatives remitted money already collected, leading to the recovery of about N2.5m.

He alleged that the directorate later directed that N1m be given to student representatives as appreciation, while N1.5m was paid into an account provided by the directorate. He insisted he merely conveyed those decisions and supervised the return of funds held by class governors, denying that he ever diverted or personally collected students’ money.

Olaleye said he was nonetheless summoned before a panel on allegations of extortion and subsequently suspended, while some staff who directly handled the funds were not queried. He also questioned why he received a formal query five days after his suspension and criticised the public announcement of the sanctions before the investigation was concluded, saying it exposed him to ridicule.

A senior management source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, backed parts of Olaleye’s account, claiming his office was only asked to intervene in the dispute and alleging that the panel that probed the matter “misled the system” due to prior issues with students.

The university, however, has firmly rejected claims of a witch-hunt. The Director of Public Relations, Dr Sunday Saanu, said the allegations of a pre-planned removal and political victimisation were false and amounted to blackmail.

Saanu said the institution operates a strict anti-extortion policy endorsed by the Senate and strengthened by the Governing Council, which approved dismissal for any lecturer found guilty of extorting students. He added that deans and heads of department could also be sanctioned for failing in their oversight roles.

According to him, a prima facie case was established against Olaleye before disciplinary measures were taken. He said a management committee reviewed the findings and resolved that the Dean of Student Affairs should also face sanctions, on the principle that leadership bears responsibility for misconduct under its supervision.

Saanu maintained that evidence before the committee showed that Olaleye directed that money be collected from students, stressing that the case had nothing to do with internal politics or the Vice-Chancellor’s emergence. He noted that many staff members did not support the Vice-Chancellor but had not faced reprisals.

He contrasted Olaleye’s case with that of a former Students’ Union president, who was pardoned after management concluded that the questionable practice predated his tenure and decided to treat it as a deterrent rather than grounds for severe punishment.

Olaleye has appealed his suspension and petitioned the Governing Council chairman, urging that the investigation be allowed to run its full course before any final decision is taken. He has also pointed to the reinstatement of the suspended SUG president as raising fresh questions about the consistency of the disciplinary process.