EFCC Invades Oduduwa Estate, Arrests OAU Students

Some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invaded some students hostels in Oduduwa Estate in the early hours of Wednesday November 1st, 2023 and arrested a yet to be ascertain number of students.

Sponsored Post: Young Founders And Entrepreneurs To Converge On OAU Campus In November

Eye witnesses staying in the hostels confirmed the forceful invasion of the hostels. According to an occupant who stays at Fine Touch Hostel, the officials came with official vehicles and EFCC jackets. The raiding started around past 01:00am as they forcefully entered rooms and went away with students.

Another student who stays in SuperB Hostel said the officials of the EFCC came and started hitting doors, asking people to open up.

‘When they came to my room, they asked me to switch on the light, asked for my man and checked the toilet and kitchen, then left. They came back and asked me to switch off my phone then left again’ the student corroborated.

According to the Acting CSO of the institution, Mr Adegboyega, while speaking to ACJOAU Correspondent in a telephone conversation, confirmed the invasion of the students hostels and the arrest of some students. He said, around 03:28am, he was briefed by one of his men that the students called and immediately swang into action by making a call through to the DPO of Moore Police Station.

According to him, he heard that it was a robbery operation, but the telephone conversation with the DPO confirmed that it was not a robbery operation rather men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operation. The DPO confirmed to the Acting CSO that his men(The Nigeria Police Force) were around the troubled area as at the time the EFCC were making the arrests.

READ ALSO: OAU Students Hold Candle Night In Honour Of Colleague’s Death

Speaking further, he said he expects that the concerned students should come to the security unit of the institution to lodge a formal report and from there, they know what to do. He however said, the security unit of the school will go to the EFCC office to confirm if the men who made the arrest overnight in the students hostel affected are who they really claimed to be.

STUDENTS REACTION

Students and Alumni of the University have taken to social media especially on the X app to express their feeling about the incident.

See reactions below

Breaking: EFCC Illegally attacks OAU Students Hostels in Ife, Osun State.

The attacks were carried out in the middle of the night from the hours of 1:30am to 4am.

The students were made to sleep on the floor, were beaten, dehumanized and some even injured even when no one… pic.twitter.com/L62xmAIIvc

— CryptoMechanic (@SonayanAjose) November 1, 2023

#OAUTwitter these guys are in danger !!! pic.twitter.com/y2ZUoKnVpB

— oluwasemilogo (@_logoh) November 1, 2023

Earlier this morning, some students of OAU were taken by some unknown gunmen.

Their houses were burgled, they were flogged and taken away forcefully in the middle of night.
We do not know of their whereabouts or who these unknown gunmen were. #FreeOAUStudents#OAUTWITTER pic.twitter.com/AhukxQA8Yw

— Majeed Lèv 🧡 🥤 (@Majeed_Lev) November 1, 2023

The Students’ Union has also released a tweet on the official X app of the Union, condemning the recent unjust arrest and harassment of students by members of the EFCC in the odd hours of the day. According to the tweet, the action is unacceptable and goes against the principles of justice and due process.

We strongly condemn the recent unjust arrest and harassment of our fellow students by members of the EFCC @officialEFCC in the odd hours of today, Nov 1st, 2023. This action is unacceptable and goes against the principles of justice and due process.#OAUTwitter #FreeOAUStudents pic.twitter.com/743d9r3i1G

— Great Ife Students' Union (@GreatIfe_SU) November 1, 2023