Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) who live outside the campus have said that they now live in fear of armed robbers following the killing of one Abiodun Babalola, a 300-level student of the school on Sunday.
Mr Babalola suffered machete cut at an off-campus hostel named, ‘Adam and Eve’ located in Parakin, Ede Road, Ile-Ife, for allegedly refusing to surrender his iPhone to the robbers who attacked residents of the hostel.
Many students of the institution who spoke to The Punch on the plight of off-campus residents said areas with large student population often experience frequent attacks by robbers.
Robbery attacks on students of the university became rampant when squatters were sent out of hostels within the campus by the management of the institution at the beginning of the 2017/2018 academic session.
A student in the Faculty of Engineering who lives in the Mayfair area Tobi Olagunju said that two weeks ago, he lost personal belongings to some thieves who accosted him while he was returning home around 8.30pm
100-level student in the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, Ojetola Olawale, who also lives outside the campus said he had been robbed twice since he resumed in the school.
Another student in the Faculty of Education, Department of Arts and Social Sciences Education, Ayodeji Dosumu, said many of his friends living outside the campus had fallen victims to robbery attacks.
He added that one of his friends had suffered two robbery attacks in the last seven months, noting that such cases were now regular in areas like Aserifa, Parakin and Mayfair.
“We are doing our best to ensure that our students live and study in a secure environment. But for those living outside the campus, it is impossible for us to provide security for them,” OAU spokesperson Abiodun Olarewaju said.
