UNILORIN Students Protest Against Road Construction

Students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State protested on Wednesday. They were unhappy about the digging on a road in the university’s main campus. They said the construction was making it hard to move around and might affect their classes.

The protest was led by the Students’ Union President, Adam Mozeed. This came after the university got a temporary court order against Craneburg Construction Company Limited and others. The order stopped them from clearing, building, or entering a disputed piece of land between the College of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy.

The Upper Area Court 1 in Ilorin issued the order on 11 November. This happened after the university filed an urgent application. The court barred the company and unnamed individuals from any activities on the land until a hearing takes place.

The court postponed the case, with suit number UACI/CVF/1173/2026, to 16 November for the hearing of the motion on notice.

Students Want Answers

Before the protest, the student leaders gathered students at Lagos Male Hostel. They planned to march around 3 p.m. In a video from the protest, Mr Mozeed said it was to show how unhappy students were with the construction work, especially the road digging.

He explained that the affected road was important for students from the College of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy. Closing it would make it hard for them to get to their classes. "We are going to their classes, as well as they will go. We have two campuses of the University of Ilorin, the main campus," he said.

Mr Mozeed asked why the university started the work without consulting students or telling them how long it would take. "We don’t know how long it’s even going to take. There was no problem with stakeholders’ engagement," he said.

He also said the university management should have involved students in decisions that affect them. "We don’t see any people coming and breaking our roads. We are students of the University of Ilorin. We plan surely against this, and we call on the university management to explain as to why this is happening on our campus," he said.

He said the union wants the management to talk to students about why the construction is happening.

The students also asked the contractor or any relevant government body to explain what they were doing on campus.

Court Stops Contractor

The injunction was granted based on an urgent application made on 11 November. It included affidavits, one from Paul Ogidi. The university wanted the court to stop the defendants from any activity on the disputed land until the hearing.

In its ruling, the court ordered:

"THAT an interim injunction is granted restraining the Defendants, their agents, privies or any other person deriving power or authority through them from further clearing, constructing, developing or trespassing on the Plaintiff’s land lying, being and/or situate in between the Plaintiff’s College of Health Sciences and Faculty of Pharmacy at University of Ilorin pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed contemporaneously with this motion."

The order was signed by the judge, S. H. Ajumobi. This court order is temporary. It does not decide who owns the disputed land or the main rights of the parties involved.

Craneburg Construction Company Limited and unnamed individuals are listed as defendants. The protest and court order have raised concerns about the construction work on campus and how management, contractors, and students communicate with each other.

The court will hear the university’s motion on notice on 16 November.