Alleged land-grabbers invaded Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State on Monday afternoon, shooting at the convoy of the vice-chancellor Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede.
The varsity accused the individuals of forcefully encroaching on its land. But the Ile-Ife community denied the allegation.
Ogunbodede told journalists: ”We were told there was an attempt to encroach on the land belonging to the university using the opportunity of an ongoing road construction by the Osun State Government. We quickly got in touch with the palace and made it clear that the university management would visit the place to find out the truth.
“For proper capturing of the situation, we asked some reporters to join us to the site which is just between the campus gate and Parakin, but as soon as our vehicles approached the place some hoodlums descended on us hauling stones and shooting at us. It was scary.”
Mosis Olafare, spokesman of the community’s monarch Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, declined to speak on the matter, referring Premium Times to the community’s legal adviser Adeyemi Adetise.
Mr Adetise advised the university management to avoid throwing the entire town into an avoidable crisis.
He said: “We are unaware of such a development and I don’t think anything of such happened. As the counsel to the community, I am aware there has been a lingering crisis between the university and the community over land matter which was even before the new monarch was enthroned.
“So if the university is referring to that, I want to advise that it should desist from rushing to the media because land matters are not fought on the pages of newspapers. We have been meeting over this thing and even when the visitation panel came we raised the same issue. So I don’t see any reason for this media fight.”
In April 2019, the management of the university petitioned the commissioner of police in Osun State and the office of the director of state security, accusing some alleged land-grabbers of poisoning the dam that supplies water to the university community.
