By Shina Abubakar
Students of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) were last Tuesday subjected to horrendous moments usually associated with kidnapped victims.
The young undergraduates were allegedly attacked by another group of young Nigerians trained to defend the nation.
Specifically, the students, most of them females, were thrown into panic when newly recruited Army personnel, dressed in military uniform, reportedly stormed their hostels in the middle of the night and unleashed terror on them.
The victims, who reside in off-campus hostels around the Oke-Baale area where the university is located, said they were either relaxing or cooking when terror descended on them—not from bandits, armed robbers or cultists, but from newly trained military recruits awaiting deployment to different parts of the country for law enforcement or peacekeeping duties.
Naked
On arriving at the students’ community in Oke-Baale, the Army recruits allegedly became the lords of the night, wielding plastic pipes to enforce compliance with what the victims described as illegal orders. They allegedly compelled young female students to strip naked and dance without clothes. Some of the victims also alleged that they were assaulted by the newly recruited soldiers, while others said they were subjected to various forms of punishment.
One of those affected, who identified herself as Eunice Oretade, said the recruits forced her to open her door and, upon entering her room, ordered her to kneel.
“One of them grabbed me from behind and started fondling my breasts. He even told me not to shout. He asked me to take off my underwear, but I pleaded with him to let me go. I started shouting before another one of them told him to leave me alone, “ she lamented.
Another female victim, Adeyemo Anuoluwapo, narrated her ordeal.
“They started banging on doors and kicking them. They were telling girls to strip naked. When they hit my door, it slammed against my head. I was pleading with them, but one of them started beating me with a pipe. I had a seizure and couldn’t breathe properly. They poured water on my body.
“Thereafter, I was taken to the hospital, where I was admitted until the following morning. I was given drugs and advised to undergo a scan, but I don’t have the money to do it yet.”
Screams
Sharing her experience, Ademola Jesunbo said she was cooking in her room when the Army recruits arrived.
She said:”I was in my hostel cooking when I noticed they were around. They flashed their torchlight towards my room. I asked who was there, but they told me to open the door. I was asked how many people were in the room, and I told them I was alone because my roommate wasn’t around.
“When I opened the door, one of them pinned me against my toilet door. He told me not to shout and said I would enjoy it. I managed to free myself from his grip and moved towards the door. He kept saying I would enjoy it and shouldn’t shout. Then one of his colleagues came in, and both of them tried to force themselves on me. I shouted, and they immediately moved out.
“One of my hostel mates, a male student, came to find out what was happening after hearing my screams.
“He asked me to open the door, which I did, not knowing he had been ordered by those people to ask me to do so. They entered my room with him. They said they wanted to search my room, which they did before leaving.
“They came back again with him and ordered me to open the door, but I refused. My hostel mate kept begging me to open it because they were threatening him. When I eventually opened the door, they demanded my phone, but I refused to hand it over. One of them collected a pipe from his colleague and threatened to beat me. He seized my phone, removed my SIM card, scattered everything in my room and left with my phone.”
Beret
For Salau Tomiwa, a male student of Micro Biology Department, his crime was refusal to obey a command to come out of his hostel.
He said:”In the afternoon, they came to my hostel, King and Queen Hostel. At first, they didn’t enter because they were harassing a girl in the hostel beside mine. Later, they came to the room next to mine and demanded that the occupant give them her phone number, but she refused. A second soldier arrived with a pipe and insisted that she must give them her number.
“They were looking at people in my hostel when they suddenly ordered everyone in the house to come outside. I didn’t move because I had done nothing wrong. One of them wanted to hit me, but I resisted. They then ordered me to drop my phone, but I refused. Four of them later descended on me after they discovered that my colleagues had run away. They started beating me with plumbing pipes. During the assault, I snatched the beret of one of them, but they left with my phone.
“They came back as a group of four. When they saw that everyone else in my hostel had left and that I was defenceless, they started beating me with pipes.”
Five soldiers
Several groups have condemned the actions of the soldiers. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D, and the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in the state described the incident as “barbaric and inhuman.”
Sources close to the Army Depot in Osogbo told Sunday Vanguard that five soldiers suspected to have been involved in the incident had been arrested and that the Military Police were investigating the matter.
According to them, if the personnel are found guilty, they will be dismissed, as their conduct does not reflect the values and traditions of the Nigerian Army.
Panic
The Public Relations Officer of the Depot, Major Yahaya Ibrahim, in a statement, called for calm and urged the public not to panic. He said only a few indisciplined personnel allegedly left their place of training to perpetrate the act, adding that the Army exists to protect citizens, especially young people, who are the future leaders of the nation.
“The Depot wishes to reiterate that the Nigerian Army exists to protect all citizens, especially the youth, who are the future of the nation. Any conduct that falls short of that mandate is unacceptable. No student or law-abiding citizen should ever feel unsafe or be subjected to harassment, intimidation or assault by those entrusted with the security of lives and property.
“In line with military regulations and the values of the Nigerian Army, the Commandant has ordered an investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. The NANS South-West Coordinator, Comrade Adeyemo Josiah Kayode, is kindly requested to make available all evidence and witness statements to facilitate a thorough investigation into the incident.”
