Rash of robbery attacks hits Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State

The Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun State, Nigeria, has been hit by a wave of robbery attacks on students in the area. Following this trend, the students of Obafemi Awolowo University suffered another robbery attack on the night of Wednesday the  27th of February, along the Ibadan road.

The robbery, which occurred in a student hostel located beside the popular God’s Love Tabernacle Church, led to the loss of several valuable properties.

Speaking with a resident of the hostel who demanded anonymity: “They carted away valuable properties, phones and laptops… [and] a tenant was slapped, I think three times.”

The robbery attacks, which students have now stopped counting, appears to be part of a new, depraved norm around the OAU campus.

Since the first robbery attack recorded on Saturday the 22nd of December, where Abiodun Babatola, a 300 level student of Management and Accounting lost his life, students of the university have witnessed an unending stream of robbery attacks.

Meanwhile, despite the clamour from students and groups, the school management and the police force are yet to show any signs of attempting to improve the situation.

The school management has only openly reacted to the issue once, the first time, as they commiserated with the family of the late Abiodun Babatola.

The police have spoken about the rash of attacks a few times, but there has not been any sign of improvement in the security situation.

After the first robbery in December, Funsho Adegboye, the Ile-Ife Area Commander told the University’s Students’ Union Action Committee that the police can not secure all OAU students living outside the campus area unless the university authority opts for their proposals.

“Looking at the trend, from our quarters, here we’ve written several proposals to the university authority to build more hostels on campus to ensure the security of students.”

“Because from the statistics we have. There are over 33,000 students with only 9,000 students living inside campus while the remaining 25,000 students are scattered all over different axis in Ile-Ife.”

“Even if the whole police force in Ile-Ife is deployed, the number isn’t enough to guarantee the security of 25,000 students, especially considering the fact that students are dispersed all over the locations in Ile-Ife. Some would be in Opa, some would be in Modakeke, and this makes it difficult.”

“We have told the university authority that it is easier for us to secure a centralised people than people who are scattered all over.”

The University authorities, however, have not reacted to the comments of the area commander openly or otherwise.

Nevertheless, when Mr Funsho was contacted by this correspondent on the recent robbery, he noted he had not been briefed on it yet. When asked why the police have not been speaking or reacting to the attacks, he remarked they are doing their best considering the circumstances they find themselves in.

“We are doing our best, our very best. I have given my contacts to students in case of emergency calls.”

Students of the university will be resuming after the general election on March 9, with the hope of having a robbery-free semester or at the very least, a semester that will not be punctured by robbery attacks.