The Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede on Monday was attacked by some suspected hoodlums.
The hoodlums it was gathered laid siege on some parts of Obafemi Awolowo University community in Ile-Ife.
The vice-chancellor led members of the University management and journalists to part of the land located around parakin which was allegedly encroached by Indigenes of Ife.
The information available to DAILY GIST indicated that some land grabbers who were bent on seizing some parts of the land belonging to the university for personal use were behind the attack.
The attack compelled the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Eyitope Ogunmodede, and some top management staff to turn back when they visited the place.
Though no life was lost, the hoodlums were seen brandishing cutlasses and other dangerous weapons meant to scare away people who had the intention of coming to the area.
There were many reports of several minutes of sporadic shootings in an attempt to chase the management team away.
They also attack vehicles that conveyed journalists to the scene, threatening to shoot anyone that dared take pictures or record the scene.
Addressing journalists in front of the University’s Senate building on Monday, Professor Ogunbodede, condemned the development describing it as inhuman.
He said ”The land they stopped us from accessing is part of the gazetted university land and we have a hostel on it completed over two years ago and because we do not want to lose any student, we did not allocate it as a hall of the resident.
“You can see that it is only God that saved us today. You can see the shooting and all sorts of things but we thank God that we all survived it. You can see that we are in a very serious situation as far as OAU land is concerned. A signpost with the inscription, Oduduwa Estate has been erected on the land. It is unfortunate.
“We will try as much as possible to continue to maintain peace because the university can not continue to exist without the community. We will try as much as possible to continue to reach a perfect understanding with the community. We have been doing it. We have succeeded over many years and we will continue to do it.
“We are not going to allow people to occupy the gazetted land without approval from the federal government. If the federal government decide to revise it, no problem. But, as far as the existing condition is still standing, it is going to be difficult for anybody to just cede out of the university land”, he added.
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