Twelve of the 25 students from Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, who were accused of murder and brought to court, were released on Monday.
News About Nigeria reports that the students were charged with conspiracy, murder, and negligence on June 5 and were initially remanded in a correctional facility in Ibadan, awaiting legal advice.
However, the Chief Magistrate, Olabisi Ogunkanmi, has now discharged 12 of them, pending further developments in the case.
The 12 discharged students are Kehinde Martins, Samuel Okorie, Mustapha Khalid, Yusuf Adeniran, Joseph Areoye, Iyanuoluwa Oyelakin, Obaloluwa Olalekan, Emmanuel Adejumobi, John Daudu, Moses Abiola, Hammad Tijani, and David Kolawole.
Ogunkanmi, while discharging them, held that the legal advice was out, which indicated that the 12 students should not be charged with any offence, as there was no evidence linking any of them with the offences alleged to have been committed.
One of the 25 defendants, who is a security guard at the university, Femi Oladoye, who was earlier charged with negligence of duty, was also granted bail in the sum of N250,000, with two sureties in the same sum.
Ogunkanmi, thereafter, adjourned the case till July 8 for mention.
Earlier, the prosecutor, CSP Funke Fawole, had told the court that the defendants committed the offences on May 24 at about 9 p.m. at the aforementioned university.
Fawole said that the defendants unlawfully caused the death of 22-year-old Jefry Akro, a student at the university, by beating him with planks and electrical wire.
She said that Oladoye, as a security guard, however, failed to prevent the aggrieved students from beating Akro to death.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 516, 515, and 324 of the Criminal Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
