A University of Osun State student, Yemi Olaniyan who was declared missing by his parents after he took a trip to Lagos to submit documents for Industrial Training at the ICAN office, has been found.
The student was presented to journalists by the Commissioner of Police in Osun State, Mr. Fimihan Adeoye, at the police headquarters in Osogbo on Wednesday.
According to reports, Olaniyan did not get to Lagos as expected but he instead landed at his girlfriend's place in Osogbo Osun state.
Olaniyan said he informed a female acquaintance simply called Oyin that he would spend the night at Ojodu Police Station in Lagos later that day, but he confessed to have later changed his mind, claiming he spent the night at a shopping complex, from where he allegedly left for Ilorin the following morning.
He said he started doing "email job" in Ilorin, Kwara State, to raise his school fees which he said he lost to the MMM Ponzi scheme.
Olaniyan said,
"I went to Lagos and it was getting late. I could not return to Osogbo that day. I decided to go to Ojodu Police Station to pass the night.
"One of my friends, a lady called me and I told her that since I could not make it back to Osogbo that day, I decided to pass the night at Ojodu Police Station.
"After speaking to her, I changed my mind. I just looked for a space at a shopping complex and I passed the night there.
"First thing the following morning, I got a free ride going to Ilorin. When I got to Ilorin, I started doing menial job to raise money.
"I had to work to raise money because I have spent my school fees. I used my school fees for MMM and I lost the money.
"I didn't deliberately mislead the public. My friend that released the information online later called and said I should return home.
"She said SSS people were on her trail. She said she would commit suicide if I didn't return. Because of that threat, I left Ilorin and went to one of our neighbours, who is a retired officer of SSS.
"The man, after listening to my story, led me to the SSS office. I am indeed very sorry for whatever embarrassment that misinformation might have caused the Police."
The CP said the boy turned himself in to the Department of State Services and the operatives of the DSS brought him to the Police.
Adeoye stated that the information that Olaniyan spent the night at the Police station and that his whereabouts became unknown because the Police had harmed him was incorrect.
The CP said,
"Findings showed that the boy paid fees last when he was in 200 level and he is now in 400 level.
"The information in the public was tilting towards Police harming the boy when he never slept at the station."
It will be recalled that the Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University, Prof. Labode Popoola, had in 2016, disclosed that students of the university owed the school over N1bn.
He said most of them invested in MMM and lost their fees to the Ponzi scheme.
A statement by the Lagos State Police command reads,
"The Lagos State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that one Mr. Yemi Olaniyan, said to be a final year student of accounting at Osun State University, who purportedly came to Lagos to submit documents at an ICAN office in Lagos and thereafter, allegedly slept at Ojodu Police Station on February 28 2018, has been found.
The said Yemi Olaniyan, from available information, never ventured into Lagos. He had all these while been gallivanting and junketing with his girlfriend in Osogbo the Osun State capital.
The pleasure loving kid is presently cooling his heels in a DSS custody in Osogbo.
Further development on this would be communicated as usual.
SP Chike Oti
Police Public Relations Officer
Lagos State."
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