OZORO—STUDENTS of Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro have raised alarm over the alleged worsening security situation in the institution’s host community, citing the rising cases of armed robbery attack on private hostels. Delta-Poly, Ozoro They appealed to the police, men of the various vigilante groups and other security agencies to intensify security surveillance in the community to ensure security of lives and properties. Some of the students, who spoke with Niger Delta Voice lamented that they could no longer sleep with their eyes closed in their hostels for the fear of hoodlums, who they claimed, invade their hostels between the hours of 8p.m. and 11p.m. daily. Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the hoodlums, a male student (names withheld), resident on Campus 2 Road, lamented that he was brutally attacked by some armed men, who accosted him at about 8.30p.m. when he was about entering his room. His words: “As I was trying to argue with them, they inflicted machete cut on my back and carted away my laptop, a television set and mobile phone. They had earlier attacked the hostel close to mine. “We have been experiencing attacks, but the situation has worsened lately. We are begging the security agencies to come to our aid because it is no longer safe to live in some of these hostels.” A female victim, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said robbers had been terrorizing their hostels and that some of them were raped in the process. “It was a painful experience; they asked me to give them money, my phone and my laptop. When I told them I didn’t have any of these things, one of them, took me to my toilet and the three of them raped me,” she said as tears dropped from her eyes. Some students, who were robbed in one of the hostels at Erovie quarter of the community said the unknown gunmen numbering five, arrived the hostel in a car, carrying guns, daggers, battle axe and four school bags. “They came and raped two girls in this hostel and took away all our phones, laptops where we were charging them. They also carted away three television sets. This is the first time such a thing will happen in this vicinity. Throughout last year, we did not hear of anything like this in this area,” one of the girls said. Contacted, Chairman of Isoko North Local Government Council, Hon. Emmanuel Egbabor, expressed concern over the recent trend of kidnapping and other criminal activities in the area and assured that plans are under way to address the situation. Egbabor disclosed that he recently held a meeting with all the security heads, Presidents General and Chairmen of communities in the council area on the need to reorganize and strengthen the various vigilante outfits to enhance security of lives and properties in the area. “I have ordered them to inject new blood into the vigilante groups and take away those, who they think are into cultism and other criminal activities,” he said, warning all criminally minded persons to stay away from the area. “The government will not take it lightly with anyone caught. We have been enjoying relative peace in this area and we will not sit down and fold our hands and watch some miscreants make our communities uninhabitable for us. We will fight with all our arsenals,” he said. Commenting on the development, the Public Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Mr. Boniface Ogeleya, said the institution had tried “to encourage students to take advantage of the hostel accommodation provided by the institution but the students prefer to stay in the town.” According to him: “We always try to monitor the security apparatus installed by the owners of the private hostels in the community and if the security measures are found to be insufficient, we proscribe such places.” On his part, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Ozoro division, Mr. Paul Ibegbu, said his men are working round the clock to bring the nefarious activities of the hoodlums to the barest minimum.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/delta-poly-students-groan-incessant-robbery-attacks/
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