>
By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Armed robbers have reportedly invaded students’ apartments at the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State.
The robbers were said to have raped female students and left with valuables.
It was gathered that the robbers, numbering about eight, attacked students living off campus in areas such as School 2 and Deuteronomy.
Apart from raping the female students, the armed men were also said to have made away with their mobile phones, laptops, money and other valuables.
“On Saturday night, unknown gunmen struck again. They broke into buildings to rob. They fired shots, broke the burglary proof to gain entrance into buildings. One of the students was hit by a bullet in the eye.
“They raped female students and made away with their valuables. We are crying out for help. We have been on this for over a week now. Nobody is doing anything about it. Some of our girls were raped, houses were destroyed. We don’t know what is happening. Nigerians should come to our aid,” a student who spoke on condition of anonymity told The PUNCH.
Another student said that a number of the student have fled the school environment to their various homes as there seems to be no help in sight.
It was learnt that landlords in students-dominated areas in Ilaro met on April 12 to take some decisions on the security situation in the town.
At the end of the meeting, it was resolved that all Community Development Associations in Ilaro must hire night guards and students must obtain tenancy forms.
The Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Students’ Matters, Azeez Adeyemi, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday.
Adeyemi, however, said that he could not substantiate the claims of rape.
According to Adeyemi, the state government is making frantic efforts to handle the situation, adding that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is working with the state government to stop the attack on students of the polytechnic.
He said that there would be a meeting with the Commissioner of Police in the state, Lanre Bankole, later on Sunday to find a lasting solution to the problem.
“We are not leaving any stone unturned to put an end to the matter. We are on it already. NANS is also on it. We are equally meeting with the CP tonight. So, we are on top of the matter,” he said.
