Some suspected armed robbers reportedly shot and sexually molested students of the Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade in Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State, following an attack on their hostels.
The criminal elements stormed the communities around 1 am on Sunday, shooting sporadically and entering into students hostels to cart away their belongings, assault some female students and shoot others, who are currently battling for their lives.
Speaking on the incident, some students who spoke on separate interview noted that the robbery attacks had become a recurring decimal in the communities over time.
Also, an eyewitness who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that he was attack by suspected robbers sometime in 2022 within the community.
The source said: “I was attacked sometime last year in the Ode-Remo area. I was going home from my shop when a man asked that I help him down the road with my motorcycle. On getting to the point he wanted to drop, I saw someone come out from behind and hit me with a sledgehammer while I was also shot. I spent almost N3m before I could recover.
“The second attack I witnessed happened two Fridays ago in a hostel opposite my house. What I observed was that a vehicle drove recklessly into the compound which raised my suspicion, but I was careful not to get involved. It was after they left that we heard that it was a robbery attack. The Students Union President of the institution, Olatunji Alexander, noted that despite a ‘Save our souls’ call made to the police officers in the area during the attack, their plea was ignored. He, however, disputed claims that one student died in the attacks
“The incident happened around Ipara-Remo on November 19 around 1 am. The students who called me said they rushed to a nearby police checkpoint in the community to alert the police of the attack, but the police did not yielded their call. I was furious and had to call the Area Commander who expressed displeasure towards their action. One person was injured during last Sunday’s attack.”
A student, who also doubles as the Director of Polytechnic Affairs of the National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West zone, Olusola Ezekiel, lamented that, “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 of their belongings, molest the female ones, and shoot at some. We have had several casualties, but the one of the students that was shot is the most fatal. The reason why students are exposed to these attacks was because the institution does not have hostel facilities, and students live off-campus, which puts them at the risk of these attacks. We have asked the communities also to take responsibility in curtailing the issue of insecurity of Nigerian students, especially in Gateway Polytechnic Saapade.
“The issue of attacks on student communities in the state is becoming worrisome. Last year, there were reports of attacks on the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro; recently, some unscrupulous elements attacked Tai Solarin University of Education, raping female students and carting away their belongings, and this week, we are experiencing the same thing in GAPOSA,” he added.
