Scores of students of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State on Friday protested the incessant security challenges in the campus environment.
The protest prevented staff members and visitors from entering the university as the angry students blocked the gate to the campus on the Ibadan/Ilesa express road.
They lamented over the activities of armed robbers and burglars who usually steal valuables from their hostels off-campus, particularly at midnight and while in classes.
Armed with placards bearing different inscriptions, the protesting students expressed displeasure at the school authority over the lack of security measures to protect them.
Peoples Gazette reports that some of the placards bear: “Keep Us Save Or Give Us Gun”, Students’ Lives Matter”, “Please Save Us From Robbers”, and “We No Longer Sleep At Night”, among several others.
One of the students, Bamidele Ayoola, a 200-level computer science student, told The Gazette that they had witnessed robbery attacks more than three times in the new year.
Mr Ayoola said the situation forced them to pour on the streets to draw the attention of the school authority and the security agents to the ugly trend.
“We are tired of this issue of insecurity in the off-campus. It would make it four robbery cases we have experienced since we resumed. These guys (robbers) would visit while we were on campus for lectures or visit at the dead of the night. Sadly, nothing has been done to improve the security situation here,” he stated.
Another student, Promise Adetula, who stays in a one-bedroom flat with her friend, said the robbery incidents are becoming too frequent off campus.
She explained how their compound was burgled a few days ago by armed robbers, adding that the security agencies are not doing anything despite reaching out to them.
“Instead of the police to protect us, they prefer to chase us around in the guise of looking for Yahoo boys in the streets. We are saying enough is enough; many of us feel insecure, especially the females. It is beginning to affect us and our studies psychologically,” said Ms Adetula.
The spokesperson for the university, Adegbenro Adebanjo, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Speaking on the protest, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, the police spokesperson in Ondo, said the command would interface with the students to ensure their lives and properties are secure.
However, Mrs Odunlami-Omisanya said the security agencies stormed the scene to prevent the protest from being hijacked by hoodlums who might take advantage to cause economic havoc.
“So, our men are currently taking control of the situation, and the students should be rest assured of our support,” she said.