OAU: Action Committee Unveils Plans to Quell Robbery Attacks

Peter Oyebanji

The Great Ife Students' Union action commitee has revealed some of its plans to curb recurring robbery attacks in students-dominated areas in Ile-Ife.

Students living in Ede road, Ibadan road, Parakin and other areas outside Obafemi Awolowo University campus have been vulnerable to robbery attacks in the last four months following the death of a student in December.

The latest of the robbery attacks, that was described as a very "easy ride" for the robbers by victims, happened in Oduduwa estate on Tuesday.

The committee dislosed that a press conference to call the attention of higher authorities to the trend of robbery attacks happening in the University's community will hold on Wednesday.

In the release shared to various platforms on Monday, the committee listed the steps that will be taken in order to stop the robbery attacks that has plagued the university community since December 2018.

Meeting with top community leaders, landlord associations, vigilante associations and calling the attention of higher authorities topped the list.

"Following the spate of robbery attack in town hostels and the failure of the concerned authorities to take neccesary actions in saving the endangered students. The Action Committee of the Students' Union has deemed it fit to address the situation with immediate effect through every possible means.

"In the soonest period, the action committee will have meetings with landlord associations, vigilante associations and other top community leaders in Ile-Ife. Also, the Action Committee of the Students' Union would organise a press conference to call the attention of higher authorities," the release read.

"While in the immediate, the Action Committee of the Students' Union would be holding its first meeting for the 2018/2019 session tommorow."

Recall that after the first robbery in December, Funsho Adegboye, Ile-Ife area commander blamed the robbery attack on the university's latest accommodation policy that has led to students spreading around Ife community.

"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," Mr Adegboye told our correspondent.

"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," He lamented.

Although, the school management has promised on several occasions that more hostels will be built to accommodate students, a step which will drastically reduce the dispersion rate lamented by the area commander.

OAU KILONSHELE has not observed any step taken by both the school management and other security operatives as regards the security of students who reside off-campus.