Poly students cry for help over incessant rape, robbery

Abiodun OBA

Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force and the State government have been called upon to rescue students of The Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, in the state from what was described as ‘incessant attack’ by gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.

The students, most of whom live off the campus, said they are no longer safe due to the rate at which the robbers attack them at night.

For them, going to bed at night has become very dangerous, to fear that the armed robbers may pay them an unscheduled visit.

Some female students were alleged to have been raped by the armed robbers, who also make away with their phones, laptops, money, and other valuables, including foodstuffs.

One of the students, who spoke with our correspondent under the condition of anonymity said, “on Saturday night, these gunmen struck again, they broke into buildings to rob. They fired shots, broke the burglar-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”.

Our correspondent further  gathered that a number of the students have fled the school environment for their various homes as there seems to be no help in sight.

It was learnt that landlords in student-dominated areas in Ilaro met on April 12 where some far reaching decisions on the security exigencies in the city were taken.

“At the end of the meeting, it was resolved that all Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Ilaro must hire night guards and students must obtain tenancy forms”.

The landlords appealed to the polytechnic authority  to assist the police with a siren with movement restricted from 11 pm to 4 am.

However, the students said nothing has changed since the meeting with the landlords.

A planned protest by the students was reportedly stopped by the management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro (FPI).

However, in spite of the outcry and social media posts, the Public Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Sola Abiola, said he was not aware of the incidents.

When contacted, the Special Assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Students’ Matters, Azeez Adeyemi, confirmed the incident; adding that he could not substantiate the claims of rape.

According to Adeyemi, the state government is making all efforts to nip the crisis in the bud.

He pointed out that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is working to stop the attack on students of Ilaro polytechnic.

He disclosed that there would be a meeting with the Ogun Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, 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. So, we are on top of the matter.”