The Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has raised a distress call over what it describes as a terrifying surge in violent robberies targeting students off-campus.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Union said the security situation around student-populated areas in Ile-Ife has deteriorated rapidly over the past few weeks, with over 30 robbery cases recorded in just two weeks, all involving 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,” the union stated.
A particularly brutal case involved a student who was macheted on the head during a robbery attack at his hostel.
According to the union, the student is currently in critical condition and receiving treatment in a hospital.
The union also stated that only hours before the statement was released, four more robberies were reported in three separate locations across the town.
“One student lost her phone. Another had his car stolen, and all the money in his account transferred, leaving him with nothing,” the Union said.
The statement, signed by Secretary General Babatimehin Kinfeosi and President Omoboriowo Isaac, stated that the students are now constantly afraid in their own homes, unsure whether they will be next.
Despite reaching out to the police after every incident, the Union says the response has been inadequate and ineffective.
“We have visited nearby police stations and even the Osun State Criminal Investigation Department. Yet, there has been no tangible improvement,” it stated.
The Union did not hold back in its demands for action, calling on the Federal Government, the Osun State Government, and local authorities to move quickly and decisively.
It urged the provision of patrol vehicles for police and Amotekun operatives, increased police presence in student areas, urgent intervention from the Ministries of Education to resolve the issue of on-campus accommodation, and more serious involvement from the university administration to protect students off-campus.
“The OAU Management must engage in active dialogue with relevant authorities to ensure better security for her students and consider tightening security arrangements for student hostels even outside campus,” the Union said.
The Union also issued a clear warning: if nothing changes, students will take to the streets.
“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.
“Students came here to learn, not to be hunted. We can no longer live in fear. We will defend ourselves with every voice and means available to us. We demand action. We demand safety. We demand justice.”
The Union copied the statement to top officials, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, and the Ooni of Ife, among others.
However, in response to the rising tension, the university management clarified its position, saying it is not responsible for student safety outside the university premises.
Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju said, “I am not aware of any robbery incident that happened on campus. But if there are robbery incidents that happened outside the campus within the residential areas of our students, the school management does not have enough security operatives to cover any student outside the campus.”
He explained that while the university sympathises with affected students, securing off-campus areas is a job for the police, not the institution.
“It is the statutory responsibility of security operatives to police everybody including those on campus but particularly, any student that stays outside campus should be protected and report robbery cases to the Nigerian police. They are the ones that can handle that,” he said.
Mr. Olanrewaju noted that many students live in areas shared with non-students, including local residents and landlords.
“We cannot actually single out students that an area was robbed where students are staying. They are our students, we sympathise with them. The management is incapacitated to extend security within the campus to them there. We can only speak for any incident that happens to them within the campus premises,” he said.
He used the opportunity to appeal directly to the authorities, saying, “I want to use this medium to appeal to the Nigerian police and other security agencies to please help us intensify their patrol towards the areas where most of our students are residing.”