Osun staff audit: UNIOSUN workers disrupt exercise, allege assault from consultant

Staff members of the Osun State University, UNIOSUN, on Friday, disrupted the staff verification and audit exercise organised by the State government.

The UNIOSUN staff accused the consultant of molestation.

Newspot gathered that this is the second disruption to the State-organised verification exercise.

The first one was the disruption by the staff of the state judiciary after the consultant was accused of verbal assault.

Dr Damilare Adekomi, the Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, UNIOSUN chapter, who spoke on behalf of other members of staff, alleged that the consultant, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun referred to a Professor as a bastard.

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Adekomi also said Bakrin-Ottun, while the exercise lasted, tormented and verbally abused staff members of the university, lowering their status.

“Staff members were humiliated, tormented and verbally abused. That is not supposed to be. Staff members of the Osun State University are human beings and should be accorded that respect.

“How on earth would the consultant address a professor as a bastard? That is the height of it. I can’t even address my student as a bastard. How much more a Profession? Humiliations were meted out on the non-academic staff of the university this morning. The same persisted till the moment she walked out on us.

“That is not done. The fundamental rights of every individual should be protected. ASUU UNIOSUN will not stand for that. We have respect for our university, and that is why every member is here for the verification exercise. There is a staff member, whose phone was confiscated for hours until an individual had to plead before the phone was released.

“I wouldn’t know why her phone was seized. The security men here were using guns to push people. This is not right. She stopped and walked out on us. She drove out of this place,” he said.

Responding, Bakrin-Ottun denied the allegations, describing them as mere fabrications.

“I am being maligned unjustly. One of the staff of the university called me a bastard, and rather than react, I entered my vehicle and left the scene.

“To say I am in shock is an understatement over the alleged altercation. I am surprised because these are university staff, since 9 am we were here, it has been one problem or the other. A staff of the university had an issue with a security operative of the Osun Joint Task Force, which I mediated. The phone was seized but I handed it over to one of the union members.

“I was walking out with the Deputy VC when they refused to cooperate with the process, these people have not been cooperating with the exercise since morning which really affected us.

“One of them addressed me as a bastard and I was surprised, I said, you called me a bastard? I turned around and I entered my car. All those allegations are mere fabrications, I was the one that was insulted and also maligned but I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.

It took the Intervention of the UNIOSUN Vice Chancellor, Professor Clement Adebooye for the exercise to resume and for more members of staff to finally get verified.