“We are not safe here. We are living our lives 50-50 because anything can happen at any time.”
These are the words of Blessing, a HND 2 student of The Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, located in the Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
For Blessing and thousands of other undergraduates across the state, the most expensive item on their checklist is no longer a laptop, a smartphone, or a pile of textbooks; it is their physical safety.
DAILY POST observed that higher institutions which were once revered as safe havens for intellectual growth, have increasingly been repossessed by a shadowy network of criminals who view students not as the nation’s future, but as high-yield commodities.
In recent times, a grim wave of armed robberies, sexual violence, ritual killings, and targeted kidnappings has swept through universities, polytechnics and student communities.
These relentless crimes have shattered the peace of academic environments, replacing the pursuit of excellence with a suffocating, everyday fear.
For many of these young learners, the boundary between getting an education and staying alive is thin.
Blessing lamented that despite avoiding to stay out late, locking their doors among other safety measures, the criminals now use trapped students as bait.
“I avoid staying out late because what they are doing these days is they’ll go to someone else’s door, once the person opens the door, then they’ll take the person to the next door, ask the person to knock and call out the other person with their voice.
“Recently, they robbed here in Ipara. We heard the girl screaming ‘thief thief’ but nobody could come outside because it was late in the night. I started praying silently for them not to come to my door.
“The next morning, we also heard that they robbed another woman, pointed a gun to her daughter’s head so she had to transfer all the money in her account and they took her phone also.
“We are not that safe here. We’re living our life 50-50, anything can happen at any time, no one knows,” she added in a low voice.
Recall that last month, five students of the same institution were kidnapped on Isara-Ode road on their way back from a restaurant where they went to get food.
The students, who were driving in an ash colored Toyota car, were flagged down by torchlight-wielding gunmen stationed on a bridge.
They mistook the kidnappers for police men on duty, stopped their vehicle, and they were whisked away.
Isara, Ipara, and Ode Remo are historic towns located in the Remo North Local Government Area of the state.
Endless insecurity as GAPOSA records 105 attack in 17years
DAILY POST gathered that from 2009 to 2026, the institution has recorded no fewer than 105 robbery incidents, with at least 21 students killed in the process.
In 2023, students of the Gateway ICT Polytechnic protested after two students were killed, nine shot and a lady raped during a robbery incident.
It was gathered that students residing at Ode, Ipara and Isara, all adjoining communities to Sapaade, the host of the institution were mostly affected by the incident
“They raped some girls and even beat them up on Sunday. We can no longer sleep with our eyes closed. These criminals will come to take our belongings and even force themselves on girls. It is getting too much. This must not continue,” they said, while displaying placards with different inscriptions.
This however, prompted the school management to shut down the institution for three days to restore sanity to the polytechnic and the then SUG President, Olatunji Idowu, gave the state government a seven-day ultimatum to address the security challenges.
Same script, different institutions
Beyond GAPOSA, this menace has also spread its wings to the College of Engineering, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ibogun campus. In April 2026, a suspected gang of 12 gunmen were reported to have stormed student hostels, shooting sporadically and dispossessing them of their phones, laptops, and other valuables.
However, barely two weeks later, about seven armed hoodlums revisited the students.The gunmen were said to have shot sporadically before dispossessing the students of their valuables, including a car and several mobile phones.
The hoodlums were said to have operated for about two hours between 1am and 3am before escaping with a Lexus ES 350 belonging to one of the students.
When contacted, the President of the Nigerian Universities Engineering Students Association, OOU, Ibogun, Oluwafemi Aderupatan, lamented that criminals had continued to disturb the peace of students and cart away their valuables, blaming the attacks on the absence of strong security presence in the area.
Meanwhile, in 2023, four female students of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun in Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state, were reportedly raped during a robbery incident in Abapawa, one of the university communities.
The deputy governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele paid a visit to the school management, students, and the victims of the incident, who were then receiving treatment at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.
She pledged the government’s support in ensuring that such incidents never repeat themselves again.
“I have visited the girls who are now being cared for and given the necessary support to heal from their trauma at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at OSUTH.
“Ensuring the safety and well-being of our students is of utmost importance and I subsequently had a crucial meeting with the management and students of TASUED” she added.
Again in July 2024, two first-year female students of the institution were robbed and raped at an off-campus residence.
A source at the school disclosed that the suspects, armed with guns, forced the students to surrender their phones and other belongings before leading them to an uncompleted building where they took turns to rape them.
Following the incident, the police arrested a 33-year-old man, Olayemi Shedrack who was allegedly said to have been responsible for the rape of some students at the female Royal villa accommodation area of the institution.
He was said to have stole valuable educational items such as laptops, iPhones, sports watches, and cash from female students, and also committed sexual assault before fleeing the scene.
Ogun poly holds emergency security summit to tackle kidnapping, robberies
In a swift reaction to the escalating crisis, the management of The Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, recently convened an emergency security summit to address the wave of terror ravaging its surrounding student communities.
The high-level meeting followed the suspected armed robbery attack that resulted in the death of a student, and the abduction of five other undergraduates. While the kidnapped students were rescued by operatives of the Ogun State Police Command, the incidents have left the entire academic community severely shaken and demanding immediate accountability.
Speaking at the summit, the institution’s Rector, Dr Sanni Oseni, maintained that the issue of security is a shared duty, urging all to be vigilant, informed and committed to fostering a safe and secure environment.
Oseni stated that the summit was a call to action, harping on the need for collaboration, intelligence sharing, community policing and security awareness.
“At the Gateway ICT Polytechnic, we believe that security is not solely the responsibility of security agencies. It is a shared duty that involves every stakeholder, management, staff, students, host communities, and government bodies. We must all be vigilant, informed, and committed to fostering a safe and secure environment.
“This Summit is important because it took into account the several security challenges our community has faced over time and is currently still facing. In recent times, the issue of security has become a matter of urgent concern. This reality calls for productive engagement, collective responsibility, and strategic collaboration” he added.
Also speaking, the Polytechnic’s Dean of Students’ Affairs, Adedayo Musari, recalled that a student was killed in one of the recent armed robbery attacks.
According to him, the attackers had shot at the door of the student’s hostel, leading to a bullet hitting the student in the chest.
He noted that the attackers also shot the student in the leg and before the arrival of security personnel, the student had died.
“The boy who was killed on Saturday was shot while trying to shield his door from the robbers. The bullet hit him in the chest. While attempting to escape, he fell into a gutter, and the robbers shot him in the leg,” Musari said.
He lamented that the menace began from 2009 till date, and the perpetrators not only steal, but rape and kill students in the process.
“As one of pioneer Staff of this institution when it was established in 2006 to 2009, no report of student killings in this school, and no robbery, but now when there is more people and development, we are witnessing all these criminalities.
“Between 2009 and 2026, we have recorded 15 robbery cases in Ipara town, where they robbed and killed our students, while 32 in Isara where five students were killed and some sustained injuries, and we recorded 58 robberies in Ipara and 16 students were killed.”
Musari also harped on the need for landlords to confirm if their tenants are actually students of the school so as to avoid harbour miscreants and hoodlums who later become perpetrators of the various crimes.
“For instance, just 3month ago the police arrested 72 guys around 3am, and we later discovered that only 15 of them are bonafide students of our school. We do tell landlords too to do findings before accommodating anyone who calls him/herself a student.
“Some agents and landlords who comply with us always bring the filled forms to us, so that we can cross check if the individual is truly our student or not before they accommodate such a person.”
Management seeks police intervention, accuses bike riders of aiding criminals
The Dean of Student Affairs at Gateway ICT Polytechnic Saapade, has appealed to the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, over the worsening insecurity around the institution’s host communities.
Speaking on behalf of the school, the Dean said students have been living in fear due to repeated robbery attacks and called for urgent police intervention to secure lives and property.
A major concern raised by the institution is the alleged role of some commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as bike men, in facilitating criminal activities. According to him, investigations revealed that certain riders provide cover and assistance to criminals operating in the area.
“We also discovered that bike men also aid the criminality in the students’ host community,” he stated, noting that this has made it harder for security agencies to track and apprehend suspects.
The Dean also flagged a location known as Pakiama in Ode-Remo as a major security blind spot. He described the area as a “no-go zone” for law enforcement, where criminals often escape after attacks.
“There is a joint called Pakiama, it is a go-no-area for security agencies. So we are asking the Commissioner of Police to please help us work on it because, whenever a criminal enters the area, he/she will be rescued or hidden,” he added.
We need action not assurance, students lives are non-negotiable – ODC
Reacting, Chairman, Ode-Remo Development Council (ODC) Olufunso Afolabi, argued that the lives of students are non-negotiable and the community cannot continue to be seen as a place where young lives are cut short due to preventable security failures.
Afolabi asserted that the recent pattern of violent attacks targeting students has created fear, tension, and reputational damage for both the community and the institution.
He demanded the deployment of additional security personnel to student populated zones, surveillance systems in identified black spots,establishment of rapid response units for emergency situations among others.
The Chairman also called for youth engagement programs, awareness campaigns, and rehabilitation initiatives to address underlying factors such as youth unemployment, drug abuse, and the presence of criminal networks exploiting the student population.
He said, “Ode-Remo calls for the following immediate actions: Deployment of additional security personnel to student-populated zones, installation of functional street lighting and surveillance systems in identified black spots, regulation and proper monitoring of off-campus student accommodations.
“Establishment of rapid response units for emergency situations. It’s time for Action, Not Assurances. The lives of students are not negotiable. Ode-Remo cannot and will not be seen as a community where young lives are cut short due to preventable security failures.
“There must be accountability in handling reported cases of attacks and killings. The community demands transparent investigations and visible justice. Silence or inaction only emboldens perpetrators and deepens public distrust.
“We strongly recommend the immediate creation of a Joint Security Taskforce comprising representatives from the polytechnic, community leadership, law enforcement agencies and youth bodies.”
Security expert blames social vices on lifestyle of students in campuses
A Security Consultant in Ogun State, Comrade Kunle Sodipo, has ascribed the cause of social vices around campuses to the lifestyle of students, stressing that they sometimes live flamboyant lives thereby making themselves easy targets.
According to him, habits such as running generators throughout the night and careless disposal of waste from expensive purchases signal affluence to criminals.
The expert stressed that students need to adopt a more cautious approach given Nigeria’s current economic realities, urging them to “enjoy what you have quietly” and practice moderation in their daily lives.
“In a country where we know that to buy a litre of fuel you have to work very hard, putting on your generator from morning to night or from midnight to day break you are telling them that you have enough money. So you become a target.
“If you see students going around with IPhone 17, that is the latest; you know the cost. Some go around with Samsung Galaxy Fold making themselves easy targets to unscrupulous and criminal elements. They are supposed to ensure that they apply necessary precautions. When you have something, enjoy it quietly.”
Sodipo, who is also a Public Relations Practitioner, advised the state government to partner with the National Orientation Agency in educating students on how to live more discreetly and safely, arguing that insecurity on campuses is a reflection of Nigeria’s broader societal problem.
“Whatever you are seeing in universities and polytechnics today is an extension of what happens in the larger society. We treat security like it’s nothing, focusing on meaningless things instead,” he stated, insisting that any lasting solution must start with a shift in mindset across communities, religious organisations, and schools, suggesting that security education should be made part of the school curriculum.
“So I think we need to address the issue generally in Nigeria and let people in the society realise that security of lives and properties comes first. In fact, we should make it a course in our curriculum so that our children will understand how important security is,” he added.
Meanwhile, he called for empowerment and collaboration with security agencies, saying “when you see something, and say something then you can be able to nip crime in the bud. It’s cheaper to be proactive than to be reactive and you can only do this by collaborating with the police, civil defense, and other security agencies that are saddled with internal security in Nigeria.”
Police assure of tighter security, says they’re proactive
The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, in an interview with DAILY POST on Saturday, assured students and residents that the command under the leadership of CP Bode Ojajuni, has adopted a proactive, visibility-driven security posture designed to crush threats before they materialize.
Babaseyi disclosed that Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) have been handed strict, matching orders to maintain a continuous, 24-hour interface with community leaders, school authorities, and the students.
According to him, credible and anonymous intelligence was recently leveraged to foil a cult initiation attempt within a student community, alongside the recent arrest of numerous suspects linked to campus armed robberies and violent crimes.
“The Ogun State Police Command has sustained intelligence-led and preventive policing across tertiary institutions and surrounding student communities. Recent operational breakthroughs, including the arrest of numerous suspects linked to armed robbery and violent crimes, alongside rescue interventions around Gateway ICT Polytechnic and adjoining areas, underscore a proactive security posture.
“Through sustained intelligence-led operations, multiple arrests of suspects involved in armed robbery and violent crimes, and proactive disruption of criminal networks targeting educational communities. The Command continues to reinforce public confidence and ensure a safer academic environment across Ogun State.
The Image maker noted that the CP, during a strategic engagement with school authorities, student leadership and campus security stakeholders, also directed the establishment of a dedicated police post around the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Ibogun campus to enhance rapid response and improve police visibility.
“The CP’s strategic visits to Ibogun campus and schools in Ijebu Ode further demonstrate his hands-on commitment to campus safety, stakeholder engagement and visible policing. The School Protection Squad in synergy with the Gateway Shield platform continues to enhance rapid response and student protection.”
Babaseyi, however, reiterated the command’s commitment to safeguarding students and educational institutions across the state, urging all to continue using the Gateway Shield platform and the command’s emergency line to report suspicious movements for swift intervention.