Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, have begun nightly patrols to prevent further robbery attacks around off-campus hostels.
The President of the university’s Student Union Government, Olamilekan Michael, told Development Agenda that the robberies, which occurred twice last week, targeted students who remained on campus during the holiday period. He said the attackers were armed with guns and cutlasses. “Some students are still around for IT and SIWES. These robbers are armed. They break into rooms, fire shots to scare students, collect their phones and even ask for passwords,” he said.
Michael said students decided to organise a self-policing patrol due to the frequency of attacks and delayed response from security agencies.
Two hostels—Accord and Isolu—were hit in one of the incidents on July 9. In a statement signed by the union president and the SUG Public Relations Officer, Ayomide Oyekan, the students confirmed that they had reported the incidents to the police and other security agencies. A second statement from the union noted that another robbery had occurred within 48 hours, affecting students in the Zoo and Oluwo areas. The union expressed concern about the recurring incidents and called on students to join the night patrol.
“As part of this initiative, we will commence a nightly patrol starting from midnight. We invite all concerned students to join us in this move,” the union stated. Michael confirmed that police officers had accompanied them on patrol but noted that the local police division lacked adequate personnel. Efforts to get a response from the Ogun State Police Command were unsuccessful, as messages sent to the command’s spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, had not been returned as of the time of filing this report.
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