AAUA students lament incessant robbery attacks

A 200-level student of Science Education, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba- Akoko (AAUA), Mosimiloluwa Ayinde, was in her one room apartment, sleeping around 3:30a.m when she heard a knock at the door. Wondering who it could be, she moved to open the door thinking it could be one of her neighbors who wanted to request for a matchstick.

“I asked who was at the door. The next thing the knocking continued uncontrollably and they threatened to break the door if I didn’t open it. Out of fright, I had to open the door and two guys with hood, flashing torchlight at my face to prevent me from seeing them came in. Before they gain entry, I was already shouting which made the whole occupants of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) villa to wake up and be at alert. As a result, the robbers could not continue their operation in the next room, but they carted away some of my properties. Though I was not hurt, it was an awful experience,” Ayinde recalled.

This is one of the recent burglary attacks confronting the students of AAUA who are residing off-campus as the accommodation within the school campus is insufficient for all. The robbery rate in the community has been alarming, to say the least, thus causing trepidation and panic among the students.Another occupant of the villa, Ayodeji Olukotun, a 200 level student of Criminology and Security Studies, was the first to be robbed in the villa. According to him, his friend went to the toilet to ease himself and he was playing music since it was almost morning. The sound of the music probably caught the attention of the armed robbers.

When asked how the robbers gained access to the building because the villa was well-fenced, he said “There’s a broken fence beside the toilet. They passed through the broken wall and came directly to my room. They packed my phones as well as my friend’s phone including all that was plugged in my room that day.”

For a 200-level student of mass communication, Olatubosun Samson, “I woke up around 3:30 a.m. and was about to go out to urinate. On getting to the entrance when I wanted to open the door, I noticed that the villa was not as silent as it used to be. I had to pause and before I could know what was happening, he passed by my room, heading to the next room.” He further added that the girl who was in the next room was shouting Jesus!! Jesus!! “It was that Jesus that rescued her and she woke everybody up. It was that girl that actually saved us all.”

Another student who pleaded anonymity said they experienced same attack in their own villa. “They went to all rooms, packed us in one place and they started collecting the phones and money they could get. This is the second time they will be attacking us. The police came here to address us and some other villa around us. They said all our guys should stay out till 2:00a.m. at night to safeguard the compound like vigilante.

“They told us they have been to the Alale of Akungba’s palace, but the king said if he should release his guards, it would affect the innocent and non-innocent because they would want to fight anybody they see outside. The Police further informed us that if we want to stay outside till after 10:00 a.m., we must be with our identity card to serve as a means of identification.”

Meanwhile, the public relations officer of the students union, Babalola David, has said that the union is making efforts to ensure the safety of all students living within and off the campus.He said, “Our plan on the security issue has been solidified and concrete enough. This week, varieties of newsmen came to Akungba . So as the Students Union, we made sure that we called on the media and they responded promptly.