UNIOSUN VC Confirms Arrest of Five Soldiers Involved in School Raid, Condemns Attack
By: Odeh Favour Adiya
The Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) has strongly condemned the brutal invasion of the institution’s student hostels by military personnel, lamenting that those paid to protect citizens have turned into oppressors.
Addressing the aggrieved students and members of the public following the harrowing incident, the Vice-Chancellor expressed deep sadness over the security breach, stating that such actions cannot be tolerated under any circumstance in a sane society.
He called on both the state and federal governments to note the dangerous turn of events regarding the country’s security architecture.
“As a father, as a Nigerian, let the state, I don’t mean Osun State, the federal government of Nigeria know that the people who we have recruited to protect us have turned around to become our enemy,” the Vice-Chancellor declared.
He further emphasized the psychological weight of the situation on the students, noting that the institutions meant to defend the public are now the ones instilling terror.
“The people we have recruited to safeguard our society have become threats to our peace as a people. The people we are supposed to call upon when we are under security threat have actually themselves become security threats against us,” he lamented.
Demanding strict accountability from the military authorities, the Vice-Chancellor insisted that the university community and the state at large would not fold their arms in the face of blatant lawlessness.
“This is not acceptable in any nation and it should not be acceptable in our university and should not be acceptable in Oshogbo and Osun State.
Therefore, the military top echelon they actually came to this campus this morning,” he said.
The university administrator revealed that top military officers had visited the campus, leading to the immediate apprehension of some culprits involved in the night raid.
Detailing the shocking extent of the violence, sexual assault, and looting perpetrated by the uniform men, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that the rogue soldiers acted completely outside the confines of the law.
“Five of the soldiers have been arrested, five of them have been apprehended. We note that they raped our students, they harassed them, they put on record that they collected phones from students, removed SIM cards and took away the phones, they took away power banks, they took away money from students, they broke the doors and windows of hostels,” he disclosed.
Condemning the lawlessness of the attackers, the Vice-Chancellor did not mince words as he compared their behavior to criminal elements operating under the cover of official state authority.
He declared, “They were not armed robbers, they were people who were out to torment other Nigerians in military uniforms.”
The Vice-Chancellor’s address comes amidst brewing tension within Osogbo, as students demand full accountability, the return of all stolen electronic gadgets, and a watertight guarantee that their safety will never be compromised in their own places of residence again.
