The Great Ife Students’ Union of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, on Wednesday, called on the Federal Government and the Osun State government, to immediately restore peace and security around the institution.
The union in a statement signed by the President and General Secretary, Omoboriowo Damilola and Babatimehin Kinfeosi respectively, decried the multiple cases of robbery incidents ravaging the institution’s off-campus residence.
The union stated in the statement, “In just the last two weeks, we have recorded no fewer than 30 separate robbery incidents, all involving only students. Behind every case is a student who has been traumatised, brutalised, extorted, and left helpless. Phones are being stolen. Monies are being wiped from students’ bank accounts. Hostels are being broken into in the dead of night. And, even worse, students are being severely injured. Just this midnight, there were four robbery incidents in three different locations in Ife. One student lost her phone Another had his car stolen, and all the money in his account transferred, leaving him with nothing. When we reached out to the police, they mentioned that they do not have functional operational vehicles to respond. This is highly unacceptable.’’
The union stated that an unnamed student was allegedly brutalized on the head during a robbery attack in mid-May and had since been hsopitalised. Other repeated instances include four robbery incidents in three different locations within Ife which reportedly occurred the same night.
Stating its demands, the union called on the Osun State police command and the Ife Central Local Government authority, to provide functional patrol vehicles and also requested the presence of the Amotekun Corps.
“The Nigeria Police Force must urgently increase patrol presence and deploy special tactical units to the student-populated areas of Ife,” the statement noted.
The union called on the federal and state ministries of education to address the inadequacy of hostel facilities within the university, which it said had long neglected.
“The federal and state ministries of education must accelerate efforts to fund and build more hostels on campus, as students are forced to live off-campus due to inadequate accommodation,” it added.
Meanwhile, the union leadership has promised to escalate its actions, by organizing protests, if the concerns persist.
“If these demands are not treated with the urgency and seriousness they deserve, we, the students of Great Ife, under the leadership of the Students’ Union, will have no choice but to escalate our actions, including but not limited to mass demonstrations and peaceful protests to express our growing frustrations and desperation.”
Contacted, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Biodun Olanrewaju, told Peoples Gazette that the security of the students who live outside the perimeters of the institution is the primary responsibility of the Nigerian state and not the university management.
According to Mr. Olanrewaju, “Principally, they are our students, but once they are outside the campus, their security becomes the full responsibility of the Nigerian state. Reason being that we have gates on our campus and we are responsible for the security of students within the campus. The university does not have the facility to take our security to students outside.”
Mr. Olanrewaju however appealed to the state police authority to intensify its patrol activity in areas witnessing the robbery incidents.
“But we sympathize with them. We want to appeal to the Nigerian police to intensify their patrol in areas where our students are residents,” the spokesperson said.
When contacted, the Osun state police spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi Zechariah, told Peoples Gazette that he would respond to the enquiry after getting details of the incident from the area commander.
