Gunmen Attack Olabisi Onabanjo University Engineering Students, Injure Several
About 12 armed men reportedly attacked students of the College of Engineering, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ibogun campus, in the early hours of Saturday, injuring some students and making away with phones, a car, and other valuables.
The stolen vehicle was later found abandoned, reportedly after running out of fuel. Some students were also said to have sustained machete injuries during the invasion.
It was gathered that the students had earlier staged a protest over repeated attacks on their hostels and apartments in the last three months, calling on the school management and security agencies to intervene.
The President of the Nigerian Universities Engineering Students Association, Oluwafemi Aderupatan, confirmed the incident on Saturday.
He said students had consistently lost valuables, especially phones, to hoodlums during the period.
“For the past three months, these hoodlums have continued to harass us, and we have been reporting their activities to the police regularly,” he said.
Speaking to The Punch on the latest incident, he added, “The attackers were about 12 in number. They came with guns and other weapons, forced their way into students’ rooms, and carted away phones, necklaces, beverages, and other belongings. About 10 students were attacked in one hostel, while six phones were stolen in another.”
Aderupatan noted that police officers, DSS operatives, the traditional ruler of the community, and the provost of the college had visited the campus and assured students that lasting security measures would be introduced.
“We only want to be safe. We appeal to all concerned authorities to protect innocent students from these criminal activities,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, said the institution was already working with relevant authorities to address the security breach.
“The situation is being assessed with a view to solving the problem permanently,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force in Ogun State, Oluseyi Babaseyi, also confirmed the incident, saying investigations were ongoing and additional security personnel had been deployed to the area.
Source: The Punch