Armed Robbers Invade Ogun Poly Communities, Shoot Students

Some suspected armed robbers have invaded the Ipara-Remo and Ode-Remo communities, which hosts some students of the Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade in Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State, as some students were shot with female students allegedly sexually molested.

It was gathered that the suspected robbers stormed the communities around 1 am two Fridays ago and last Sunday, shooting sporadically and entering into students’ hostels to cart away their belongings, molest some female students, and also shoot some others, among which was Francis Dwumfour, leaving him in a critical condition.

Pictures showed students with injuries on their bodies, damaged window shields and burglar-proof, and bullet shells recovered from the scenes of the attacks.

The students disclosed that the robbery attacks had become a constant in the communities over time but it got to its peak during last Sunday’s attack.

A 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.”

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the attacks maintaining that the injured student had been discharged from hospital while dismissing claims that a student died during the incident.

“The robbery occurred on the same day and the student who was injured has recovered and been since discharged from hospital.

“There was a meeting between the students and the CP and the CP urged them to always report incidents formally to the Divisional Police Officer and not to take law into their own hands by displaying their grievances first to their school authorities who would better notify the Ogun State Police Command. No student died in the attack,” Odutola disclosed.