At the main university in Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan, many scholars are more worried about self-defence than self-improvement on a campus dominated by a pro-government student union that uses rape and torture to maintain control.

Many students insist that the Students’ Federation of Cote d’Ivoire (FESCI) is nothing more than a government militia, with what some call a “mafia”-like hold on the university.

The United Nations and national and international human rights groups have accused FESCI, which is aligned to President Laurent Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), of violence against students who support the opposition.