Some suspected armed robbers have attacked the Ipara-Remo and Ode-Remo towns, hosting some students from the Gateway Polytechnic in Saapade in Ogun State’s Remo North Local Government Area, just as some students have been shot, with female students allegedly sexually abused.
According to reports, the suspected robbers stormed the communities at 1 a.m. two Fridays ago and last Sunday, shooting sporadically and entering students’ hostels to cart away their belongings, molest some female students, and also shoot some others, including Francis Dwumfour, who is in critical condition.
Some of the images seen by our correspondent showed pupils with visible injuries, shattered window shields and burglar-proofing, and bullet shells retrieved from the scenes of the attacks.
The pupils who spoke with our correspondent separately on Thursday revealed that robbery attacks have been a regular pattern in the villages over time, but it peaked during last Sunday’s attack.
Apart from last week’s attack, a source within the neighborhood who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being attacked revealed that there was a previous robbery event two Fridays ago in which some students were wounded and one was presumed dead from the bullet injuries.
He further revealed that he was similarly accosted by some suspected robbers within the community in 2022.
“I was attacked sometime last year in the Ode-Remo area,” he revealed. I was on my way home from work when a man asked if I could help him along the road with my motorcycle. When I got to the spot where he intended to drop, I saw someone come out from behind me and sledgehammer me while I was also shot. I had to spend nearly N3m before I could recover.
“The second attack I witnessed occurred two Fridays ago in a hostel across the street from my residence. What I saw was a vehicle driving wildly into the compound, which piqued my interest, but I avoided getting involved.
We just found out about the robbery after they had left. Olatunji Alexander, the institution’s Students Union President, stated that despite a ‘Save our souls’ appeal made to the police personnel in the neighborhood during the attack, their plea was ignored. He, however, denied that one student was killed in the attacks.
“The incident occurred on November 19, around 1 a.m., near Ipara-Remo.” The students who called me stated they went to a nearby police checkpoint in the community to notify officers of the incident, but the officers did not respond. I was enraged and had to summon the area commander, who voiced his unhappiness with their actions. Last Sunday’s attack left one person injured.
Another student, Olusola Ezekiel, who also serves as the Director of Polytechnic Affairs for the National Association of Nigerian Students in the South-West zone, blamed the attacks on the lack of hostel facilities at the polytechnic, which exposed the students to unwarranted attacks.
“The robbery and sexual molestation of our students have been going on for several years, but this year, they became so rampant that the robbers now enter students’ hostels, displace them, molest the females, and shoot at some,” he stated. We’ve had multiple casualties, but the student who was shot was the most fatal.
Students are vulnerable to these attacks since the college lacks hostel facilities and students reside off-campus, putting them at risk. We have also requested the community to take responsibility for reducing the issue of insecurity among Nigerian students, particularly at Gateway Polytechnic Saapade.
“There is growing concern in the state about attacks on student communities.” There were allegations of attacks on the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro last year; lately, some unscrupulous individuals attacked Tai Solarin University of Education, raping female students and carting away their possessions; and this week, we are witnessing the same thing in GAPOSA,” he stated.
A member of the polytechnic administration who talked with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity on Sunday stated that the administration was aware of the attack and that steps were being taken to reduce security breaches within the communities.
“We are aware of the attack, and the institution is doing everything it can to find a solution to this security situation,” she said. In addition, the newly appointed Rector has engaged with all parties to develop long-term solutions to security concerns.”
She did, however, request assistance from the state government in fixing the security situation in the areas.
“We are appealing to the state government to support us in resolving this security issue because the school alone cannot handle it.”
When contacted, Omolola Odutola, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the attacks while emphasizing that the injured student had been discharged from the hospital and refuting accusations that a student died during the incident.
“The robbery occurred on the same day, and the injured student has since recovered and been discharged from the hospital.”
“The students and the CP met, and the CP urged them to always report incidents formally to the Divisional Police Officer and not to take the law into their own hands by displaying their grievances first to their school authorities, who would better notify the Ogun State Police Command.” “No student was killed in the attack,” Odutola revealed.