OOU Students were reportedly attacked by armed robbers at the Ibogun campus as insecurity fears deepen in Ogun State
Students of Olabisi Onabanjo University at the Ibogun campus in Ogun State were again thrown into panic in the early hours of Friday after armed hoodlums reportedly invaded hostels occupied by engineering students and robbed them of valuables.
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The latest attack, which affected no fewer than 15 students, occurred less than two weeks after a similar security breach at the institution.
Witnesses said about seven armed men stormed the hostels between 1am and 3am, shooting sporadically and threatening students before escaping with mobile phones, valuables and a black Lexus ES 350 belonging to one of the victims.
President of the Nigerian Universities Engineering Students Association at the university’s Ibogun campus, Oluwafemi Aderupatan, confirmed the incident on Friday and expressed frustration over the repeated attacks on OOU Students.
According to Oluwafemi Aderupatan, the attackers operated for nearly two hours before police officers arrived at the scene.
“The armed robbers, about seven of them, attacked students in their hostels in the early hours of Friday,” he said.
“They were shooting and threatening to kill the students. They robbed about 15 students of their phones and also went away with a black Lexus ES 350 belonging to one of the students.”
The student leader blamed the repeated attacks on what he described as the absence of a strong security presence around the campus community.
Oluwafemi Aderupatan lamented that security measures promised by the police, school authorities and community leaders after the previous attack had yet to materialise.
“We are equally not happy that the police post and robust security architecture that the police, the school management and community leaders promised to put in place about two weeks ago when we had a similar armed robbery incident have not become a reality,” he added.
He appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to urgently intervene and strengthen security around the institution.
According to him, students can no longer continue living in fear or repeatedly losing their belongings to criminals.
Reacting to the incident, spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed that an investigation had commenced.
“The Ogun State Police Command takes every security concern within the Ibogun campus environment seriously, and efforts are ongoing to ascertain the facts surrounding the report and take necessary action where required,” she said.
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The latest attack has intensified concerns over insecurity around tertiary institutions in Ogun State, particularly after a similar incident about two weeks ago in which armed men reportedly attacked students, injured some victims and stole vehicles, phones and other valuables.
