The management of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, has condemned the alleged sexual assault on one of its students by soldiers of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army.The soldiers were attached to a checkpoint on the Akungba Akoko -Ikare Akoko Road.
The victim, a 300-level student of the Department of Religious and African Studies, AAUA, was allegedly gang-raped by some soldiers at the checkpoint on Wednesday.
The victim was allegedly forced to alight from a commercial bus and dragged into a makeshift shed by the soldiers at the checkpoint and sexually assaulted.
The soldiers, who allegedly perpetrated the act, were said to have been arrested by the brigade, while the army had commenced investigation into the matter.
The university, in a statement on Sunday by its acting Registrar, Mr Opeoluwa Akinfemiwa, called on the army authorities to prosecute the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The statement read in part, “The university, after its preliminary investigation, noted with concern and amazement that soldiers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose duty, among others, is to protect the lives of its citizens, can turn around to exhibit such reprobate tendencies.
“The university, while commending the swift action taken so far by the Brigade Commander on this inhuman and brazen assault on a defenceless and innocent student, calls on the authorities of the Nigerian Army to deal decisively with the perpetrators of the act against humanity.”
The institution urged the army to dismantle the checkpoint at Ikare, where the crime was allegedly committed, and move the soldiers attached to it to Oba-Akoko and Ido Ani areas in the Ose Local Government Area of the state, where kidnapping was rampant.
It also called on the students to remain calm while investigation was ongoing into the matter.
“We will continue to ensure that adequate security measures are put in place to enable the students to continue to pursue their academic activities without molestation,” the AAUA management added.
