Following the trending story of armed robbery and the rape of nine female students at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, the school management has issued a disclaimer debunking the story.
In a statement issued on behalf of the University by the Acting Head of Information and Public Relations Unit, Chika Ene, the school admitted that “there have been some robbery incidents in the Ifite axis where most off-campus students’ lodge are domiciled. It is however untrue from preliminary investigations that such level of rape incident occurred.”
The university authority also said that aside engaging the services of a private security agency to assist in fighting crime within the students’ area, it has also held a crucial meeting with officials of the state government and that of the Nigeria Police Force as part of efforts to provide maximum security in the University environment.
Also reacting to the trending online publication, the Anambra State Police Command said it has no record of such incident as being peddled and in the same vein urged victims of such incident, if there is any, to come forward with information that will assist the police to embark on investigation.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, the report of rape is mischievous, false, unconfirmed and likely to cause tension and bring the state to disrepute and advises the public to disregard the report while warning such information peddlers to desist as they will not be spared when apprehended.
The increasing insecurity in the Ifite Awka axis, including cult related attacks, has raised concerns and the University Authority, the Anambra State Commissioner for Homeland Security Affairs, and the Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, held a meeting at the Vice Chancellor ‘s office to find ways to address the security breaches.
Presently, the area is calm and members of the public are advised to report any criminal incident to the police to enable them to do proper investigation and arrests than resorting to social media.
