The University of Ilorin withheld his degree, and did the same two years later to Rasheedat Adesina, another protester.
Last month — 15 months after Nigeria`s Supreme Court ruled that the withholding was "capricious, oppressive, illegal" — the university finally awarded Akinola and Adesina their degrees.
While Nigeria is now ruled by an elected, civilian government, universities continue to punish activists and conditions on campuses in Africa`s most populous nation have reportedly gotten no better.
"Conditions have only changed for the worse," said Hassan Taiwo Soweto, national coordinator with the local Education Rights Campaign. He pointed to a recent protest at the University of Lagos, where students complained mattresses are infested with bed bugs and toilets are stopped up.
Akinola told The Associated Press that the university`s actions hurt him. He had always wanted to be a statistician but could not get work without a degree.
"It was a struggle. I got by with help from family and friends," he said.
In 2006, he finally qualified with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and now works for an accounting firm.
2 students get degrees after 16-year legal fight in Nigeria
10 November 2015
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Sixteen years ago, Lanre Akinola completed academic requirements to receive a degree in statistics from a Nigerian university. But Akinola had taken on extracurricular activities: protesting against military dictatorship and filthy dorms.
