It was a tragic Saturday morning, March 1, 2025 for some students of University of Ilesa who live outside the campus and occupy some buildings as hostels in a popular neighborhood, Imola in Ibode, a town under Atakunmosa West Local Government.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that more than 10 armed men with weapons invaded these buildings occupied by students and carted away over 30 mobile phones and other valuable items.
It was also gathered that these local thugs mainly Yorubas with some Hausa-speaking individuals broke into these hostels around 4a.m and injured some students who resisted them with cutlasses and axes.
A reliable source told WITHIN NIGERIA that these local thugs were not able to rob the entire school hostels or rape female students as a result of quick intervention of the Chief Security Officer, Dean of Students Affairs and tactical squad of the Ilesa Area Command who acted swiftly and responsively to the distress call.
A student identified as Tunji (not real name) while conversing with WITHIN NIGERIA disclosed that there was no light as at the time of the robbery, making it easier for the burglars to operate smoothly without any specific hindrance.
Tunji who revealed that the area has not had electricity for a week, stated that some strong students would have resisted them in unison if there were electricity supply in the area because the burglars took advantage of epileptic power supply of the area.
According to Tunji, one of the burglars hit him on the head and forcibly grabbed his phone which was lying on his mattress.
“They slapped and punched my roommate because his phone was not with him as at the time of the robbery. He had earlier gone to charge his phone at a friend’s place. So he left the phone there, a rather sad Tunji narrated.
Another student identified as Laolu (not real name) disclosed that she was reading his books when the incident occurred.
“I was praying fervently when I heard some cries and noticed some fast movements in my hostel. I was shivering and quickly wore a Jean trouser and a big gown. Fortunately, they did not reach my room before they withdrew after sensing the arrival of security officials. My heart nearly pumped out of my chest. It is a trauma nobody deserves”, she painfully narrated.
INTERVENTION?
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that a security stakeholders meeting was held on Sunday, March 2 at the administrative block of the university which was attended by DPOs of Division C, D and Osu alongside DSS assistant directors, head of civil defence Osu Command, Representative of Ijinla army Command among others.
An insider told WITHIN NIGERIA that representatives of security agencies at the meeting accessed the incident and proffered solutions to avert recurrence.
According to the insider, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Asaolu reaffirmed the position of the school that it has zero tolerance for cultism, robbery, thuggery or crime-related situation.
“Prof. Asaolu urged security agencies to collaborate and work jointly to make the University community safer and saner because academic exploits can only be recorded where there’s peace. Representatives of security agencies also vowed to work together and do their possible best in securing the university community”, the insider further stated.
ANOTHER ATTACK?
On Sunday evening around 9pm, yet-to-be identified group of armed men stormed some hostels but they were reportedly repelled by some students who had prepared in self-defence.
Despite many efforts to repel the attacks by these students, a person suspected to be a president of one of the school hostels was matcheted severely and he’s reportedly recuperating in the hospital.
In an audio obtained by WITHIN NIGERIA, a yet-to-be identified female student could be heard advising her colleagues to leave school premises and not hide or lock themselves inside their rooms because it is more dangerous.
The female student who narrated how these armed men broke her doors with cutlasses, disclosed that the president of her hostel was brutally matcheted in the head.
While appealing to her colleagues to vacate the school premises, she further disclosed that she had vacated her hostel based on advice given to her by Imola President.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
Reliable sources who spoke under anonymity told WITHIN NIGERIA that illegal local miners who reside in Ibodi are the masterminds of the attack.
According to these sources, these illegal miners who are invaders and had relationship with some residents are the ones attacking school hostels, carting away mobile phones and other valuable items.
“Mining is not as lucrative as before in Ibodi. They have exploited virtually every vacant land in the area. These illegal miners have no particular work than mining, hence the need to rob to survive. Burglary and robbery are major crimes in Ibodi and some parts of Ilesa West particularly Idasa”, a reliable source added.
However, findings by WITHIN NIGERIA confirmed majority of the claims by our reliable sources but the Sunday night attack is a cult-related one between Aye and Buccaneer groups.
According to findings, some Aye boys tried to attack someone around the campus area but a Buccaneer who was sitting in the vicinity resisted them which infuriated the Aye boys and called for reinforcement.
Additional findings revealed that the Aye boys returned to the spot and started looking for Buccaneers boys to hunt down.
“In the course of searching for Buccaneer boys, a yet-to-be identified guy belonging to the Alora group was hit by a metal scrap while a hall president who did not belong to any cult group as at time of reportage was matcheted”, findings revealed.
RECENT DEVELOPMENT?
The University of Ilesa (UNILESA) has announced an immediate two-week break for students in response to rising security concerns affecting off-campus residences.
A statement by the varsity’s registrar, Funso Ojo noted that the university promptly took the action following reports of a security breach involving off-campus students.
The statement further said the decision underscores the university’s commitment to ensuring students’ safety.
According to the statement, the security concerns came to a head after a reported breach in the early hours of the morning, prompting swift action from law enforcement.
“At approximately 3:00 a.m., the University Registrar alerted the Police Area Commander, who promptly deployed three Divisional Police Officers alongside armed personnel to secure the affected areas.
“Additionally, military personnel attached to the university intervened, resulting in the arrest of a suspected assailant.”
CONCERNS?
Following the declaration of two-week break for students in response to growing security concerns, WITHIN NIGERIA observed that majority of students of the varsity primary male students are still occupying these hotels situated in Imola, a neighborhood in Ibodi.
There are concerns about possible reprisal attack as a result of alignment and realignment of cult groups over the Sunday evening incident but WITHIN NIGERIA also observed that the police have put up strong security measures such as regular patrols, intense raiding of hot spots among others.
Segun Afolabi, a social media commentator while conversing with WITHIN NIGERIA disclosed that Ibodi has become a hotbed for burglary and robbery since 2022 following the influx of illegal local miners.
According to Afolabi, the low engagement in mining activities these local miners had witnessed in the past one year contributed to the growing crime rate in the axis.
Afolabi while appealing to security agencies to boost security measures in Ibodi community especially the school environs, stated that school hotels are soft targets for criminals.
He also urged security agencies to weed out the bad officers who form unholy alliance with thugs, criminals and cultists which has continued to fuel crisis in the area and some parts of the Ilesa metropolis.
