There was tension in the University of
Ibadan on Friday as a threatening message that purportedly emanated from
a group, al-wilayat al-Islamiyya Gharb Afriqiyyah, was circulated among
some staff of the institution and on social media platforms.
According to the message, the group
threatened to bomb the school before Independence Day on October 1,
2016, saying that students and staff were their targets.
When contacted, The Director of
Communication, UI, Olatunji Oladejo, dismissed the threat, saying it was
the handiwork of mischievous individuals who wanted to cause commotion
in the school.
Our correspondent gathered that while
some lecturers got the mail through their institutional e-mail
addresses, others were copied through social platforms such as Whatsapp.
It was observed that security
arrangement was strengthened at the school gates with scanning devices
deployed while stop and search was conducted on everyone entering the
school, leading to a gridlock.
The letter read in part, “You people are
an embarrassment to Nigeria and are the people that brought in western
education to Nigeria. You doomed this nation and in turn you all are
going to be doomed. Most of you are going to die before Independence
Day. You will not spend the Independence Day in peace, you and your
students.
“Detonation will start going from
tomorrow till Independence Day and there is nothing you can do as we are
among you. Even your little searches at the gate won’t do anything. By
the time we are through with you, your government will be sorry.”
Speaking on the alleged threat, Oladejo
said like others, he also received the letter, while saying that it had
not affected the peace of the school.
He said, “I also got it. Anyone could
instigate such thing. Some people could be mischievous. Our
international students are having their carnival on the campus and
everywhere is peaceful. I attribute it to the handiwork of mischievous
individuals and vehemently deny any commotion.”
Police Public Relations Officer of the
state police command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, told our correspondent that
the command had received information on the threat to lives and property
on the campus and had responded appropriately.
He said, “We have received the
information. The state Commissioner of Police, Samuel Adegbuyi, working
in concert with the other security agencies, has put in place all
necessary security arrangement to forestall such an ugly incident.
“We have deployed our intelligence
officers to provide adequate security in the school. As it is, it is
still a rumour but we don’t want to take things for granted and because
of this, we have provided adequate security, not only for the school,
but for the people of the state.
“We enjoin members of the public to go about their lawful businesses and to be law-abiding.”
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