Amid a wave of violent robberies in off-campus hostels, students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, have begun nightly patrols to protect themselves from armed attackers.
Despite the university being on break, several students still residing in hostels or undergoing Industrial Training (IT) have fallen victim to repeated robberies in recent days.
The Student Union Government (SUG) President, Olamilekan Michael, told PUNCH Metro that robbers—armed with guns and cutlasses—have struck at least twice in the past week.
“The robbers target hostels where they know students are still present.
They fire gunshots to scare us, break through windows, and forcefully collect our phones and even passwords,” Michael explained. “We had no choice but to take action ourselves. That’s why we introduced self-policing.”
The SUG, in a series of press statements signed by Michael and the union’s Public Relations Officer, Ayomide Oyekan, chronicled a string of recent attacks. The first reported incident occurred on July 9 at Accord and Isolu hostels.
Within 48 hours, another robbery was recorded at hostels in the Zoo and Oluwo areas.
“These recurring attacks have left students distressed and traumatised.
We are deeply concerned, especially because most students are away on holiday,” one of the statements read.
In response, the SUG launched a Self-Policing Initiative, calling on students to join nightly patrols from midnight, aimed at deterring robbers and reclaiming the safety of their communities.
“As a student body, we must act. We urge our colleagues to remain alert, look out for one another, and participate in this nightly patrol.
This is our stand against fear and insecurity,” the union said.
Michael noted that although the local police station deployed officers to join the students on patrol, their numbers were inadequate.
“The police showed up during the initial incident, but the attackers had fled by then. Since we began self-policing, they’ve been supportive, but the station is clearly understaffed,” he added.
Efforts to reach the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, were unsuccessful as she had yet to respond to enquiries at the time of filing this report.