A protest erupted in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, following allegations that recruits of the Nigerian Army invaded several private hostels occupied by students of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), where they allegedly assaulted, robbed and stripped some female students naked.
According to The Nation, the incident reportedly occurred around 10 p.m. on Monday when a group of army recruits from the Nigerian Army Depot located near the university allegedly stormed about 20 private hostels in the Shasha and Oke-Baale areas of Osogbo.
The recruits, who were reportedly dressed in military uniforms, were accused of attacking students, stealing valuables and subjecting some female occupants to degrading treatment, triggering outrage among students and residents.
The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Professor Clement Adebooye, said the students’ hostels at Shasha, Oke-Baale, in Osogbo, were invaded by some military recruits, adding that about 20 hostels were affected in the incident.
Adebooye said: “I cried so much when I saw what these military boys did to our students, especially to the female ones. It’s really inhuman for anybody in uniform to undress ladies under force and touch them inappropriately.
“They had carnal knowledge of some of them, it’s devastating to us as an institution. Unfortunately, we got the cap of one of them so it cannot be denied that it is not the military.”
Kenny alleged that the recruits made away with phones, power banks, cash and other valuables belonging to the students they attacked. She also claimed that they damaged fences, gates and windows to gain access to the hostels before allegedly telling the victims to come to the military barracks beside the area if they wanted to retrieve their phones.
Following an inspection of the affected hostels by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, students blocked the Osogbo–Obokun Road, which leads to the Army Depot, to protest the alleged harassment and assault of their colleagues.
The Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Kayode Adeyemo, called on the authorities to identify and arrest the army recruits allegedly involved in the incident.