The Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has sounded the alarm over an unsettling wave of violent robberies targeting students living outside the university campus.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Union raised serious concerns about what it described as a “terrifying surge” in criminal activities within student-dominated areas in Ile-Ife. According to the statement, no fewer than 30 robbery incidents involving students were reported in the past two weeks alone.
“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 lamented.
One particularly horrific case involved a student who was struck with a machete on the head during a night-time robbery. The student is reportedly in critical condition and currently receiving urgent medical care at a hospital.
The Union also revealed that mere hours before releasing the statement, four additional robberies had taken place in three different parts of the town. One student lost her mobile phone, while another student had his car stolen and all the funds in his bank account drained.
The statement, which was signed by Union President Omoboriowo Isaac and Secretary General Babatimehin Kinfeosi, expressed the growing anxiety among students, many of whom now live in constant fear within their own hostels.
Despite repeated reports to law enforcement agencies, including visits to nearby police stations and the Osun State Criminal Investigation Department, the Union says responses have been disappointing and ineffective.
“We have visited nearby police stations and even the Osun State Criminal Investigation Department. Yet, there has been no tangible improvement,” the statement read.
In an appeal, the Union called on the Federal Government, Osun State Government, and local authorities to swiftly address the deteriorating security situation.
Their demands include the provision of patrol vehicles for the police and Amotekun corps, more visible security patrols in student areas, urgent steps to resolve the long-standing issue of insufficient on-campus housing, and proactive engagement from the university administration.
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“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 emphasized.
The statement ended with a warning that if their pleas continue to go unanswered, the students may resort to protests.
“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 declared.
Copies of the statement were sent to top officials, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Ooni of Ife, and the university’s Vice-Chancellor, among others.
In response to the Union’s outcry, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, clarified the institution’s stance. He stated that the university cannot be held responsible for student safety outside the campus.
“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.
While expressing sympathy for affected students, Olanrewaju maintained that off-campus security falls under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian police.
“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.
He also noted the complexity of the situation, citing that students often live in mixed neighborhoods alongside non-students.
“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,” Olanrewaju said.
Appealing for swift intervention, he added, “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.”
