The university said it has set up a committee to review the cases of the students.

The Redeemers University in Ogun State has said it would review the case of 20 students expelled last week.

Debo Adeyewa, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, said on Saturday that a committee considering the appeals by parents of some expelled students would submit its report by February.

The university investigated 41 students for drug offences. It found 20 of them guilty and expelled them.

The students were expelled after testing positive to drugs, the school said.

Mr. Adeyewa said the review team, which comprised psycologists, doctors and other experts, was given three weeks to reconsider the cases of some affected students and report back.

He said some parents had given various reasons for possible review and asked for reconsideration.

“Some 41 students alleged to be taking hard drugs were asked by our medical team to go for confirmation drug test.

“After due investigations, 20 were found positive,” he said.

According to him, the penalty for use of hard drugs, cult membership, examination malpractice and other vices in the school regulation is expulsion.

“We must protect the image of the university as a religious institution,” Mr. Adeyewa said.

He added that the institution had decided to respond to the plea of the parents in setting up the review committee.

Mr. Adeyewa said that 13 letters of appeal were received with some asking for another test, some apologising for violating the school regulations and others asking for a second chance. He said three of the expelled students, who were caught red-handed, absconded and did not wait to be investigated further or tested.

The vice chancellor appealed to the stakeholders to look into the foundation of their children, to prevent them from getting into such situations.

Meanwhile, the Chaplain, Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria, Lagos Archdiocese, Andrew Ogidan, on Saturday said the expulsion of the students was just and good.

Mr. Ogidan said that students had no business with drugs.

“What are they doing with hard drugs in school, hard drugs are found among criminals and not with good students,” he said.

He noted that a missionary school should be a model for other institutions.

“The school should not allow or permit such illicit act among them, it would corrupt the rest,” Mr. Ogidan said

Lekan Adeyemi, a lecturer at the Federal University of Petroleum, Effurun, Warri, said students’ indulgence in hard drugs was a deviant behaviour but their expulsion was too severe.

“When there’s a problem, effort should be made to solve the problem and not compound it.

“The school authorities should further investigate the immediate and remote causes of the problem and find a solution. Expelling the 20 students will impact negatively on the society,” he said.

According to him, they can be reformed.

“When students exhibit such tendencies, there should be an opportunity for reformation, rehabilitation and subsequent re-integration into the system.

“Expulsion does not help the school, the student and the society at large; one of the aims of the school should be to develop manpower for national development,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how some of the expelled students felt they were victimized by the school authority. They accused the school of not giving them fair hearing by not inviting them to face any panel, to explain their case, before they were expelled.

The university is owned by the Redeemed Christian Church of God headed by Enoch Adeboye.

(NAN)