As the 2023 elections draw near, security chiefs have been urged to give their best to tackle insecurity across the country to encourage political participations.
The Chancellor, Dominion University, Ibadan, Bishop Taiwo Adelakun, gave the charge on Thursday during a press conference to give security situations on the campus of the university and the axis.
The press conference became imperative in view of recent reports of kidnapping on the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Adelakun, who is also the Presiding Bishop, Victory International Church, Worldwide, said security on the institution campus has been top-notched and never breached since the last three years that the instituion has been operating on the campus and the axis.
Giving what he described as the cutting edge advantage of the higher institution, Adelakun said four layers of security are in place to ensure the protection of students, staffs and visitors to the school since it began operation.
He gave the layers to including the presence of armed security personnel, university security operatives, Special Protection Unit (SPU) of the Nigerian Police and local contacts (vigilantes, hunters among others recruited from the villages around the campus.
Speaking on efforts made by the government and security operatives to address recent spate of kidnapping in the axis, Bishop Adelakun said security heads have held strategic meetings and made moves to nip it in the bud, adding however that the only media reports made it look like the incidences had happened around the university campus.
He said “The university has been here for three years; this is the fourth year. This area has been very peaceful. There are certain security details that I cannot give. I can only tell you that the various security agencies, including the government of the state are taking measures to ensure that there is peace at least from this place where you see the first structure as you entre into Oyo State.
“The military institution came to hold meeting with us here. The police too. When the last incidence (kidnapping along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway) happened we were there until the people were released. I can’t go into all the details because this is a security issue.
“There are difficulties which are being sorted out between Ogun and Oyo states. Once the handshake is there, it would be difficult for criminals to come and disappear back to Ogun State.
“Talking about the Federal Government and security, what is the role of a government? Number one is to maintain peace and order. Now in Nigeria, the Southwest is the safest. The Federal Government must live up to expectation. The nation is preparing now for election.
“Can election hold in the midst of insecurity? Absolutely no, so I want to charge those at the helm of affairs to rise up to the occasion especially the men and officers of the various security outfits. With the cooperation and commitment of the executive at the federal level and the legislature, it is possible.”
Speaking on the edge of the University, the cleric said although admission is still ongoing, close to 500 students are already on campus with more than 150 expected to report for the current academic session.
“This is our fourth year here; we just started the fourth session. The students that have resumed so far are 436 and yet to resume is 152 plus because we are still admitting new students. We believe that by the time the admission would be over and matriculation would be holding in February, we should be between 700 and 800 on the campus.
“Like I said, I live in this place and we have enjoyed unbroken peace in the last three years. This is our fourth year running. Admission is going on and we want the public to know that there is absolute peace around here. There is no cause for alarm. We also want to appeal to the general populace to be careful about the information they dish out.
“The requirement by the NUC to set up a university is 250acres and that is massive. In the next three to four years, we intend to turn around this whole area. And, our camp site is across the road. So, on this side and this side you will see massive development. We are extending Ibadan to this place where Dominion University is sited. The land we have is approved for education.
“The Nigerian Police, Oyo State Command is coordinating the various universities around this place to build a police post that is central to Dominion University, Precious Cornerstone University, Technical University and at the Toll Gate end, Lead City University. That is in the pipeline. What is happening now makes the issue of police post to be urgent.
“The former Commissioner of Police in the state was of the opinion that we should get a land that is central from government with which we can build a central police post. That has become more urgent now. The police station in control of this place is at Toll Gate. Everyday, they draft men to this place in the morning and at night. Then, we have Operation Burst, the Amotekun Corp, the Customs and the Safer Highway.
He urged the people against giving false information, saying “They should be mindful of the kind of information that they dish out. Here we have five layers of security. We have the regular police men, we have the university security operatives, we have the Special Protection Unit, we have the local hunters who are familiar with the terrain because they are recruited from the villages around here, and we have God.”
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Gabriel Olorunnisola, who disclosed that Dominion University started operation in 2019, said that “Our first set of students are now in 400 Level. All our 11 courses are NUC accredited. The courses are Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, Mass Communication, Criminology and Security Studies in our Faculty of Arts, Social and Management Sciences.
“In the Faculty of Computer and Applied Science, we have Computer Science, Cyber Security, Software Engineering, Bio-Chemistry, Industrial Chemistry and Micro- Biology. We are a students-centred university. There had been no security breach since we started. We engage in research and here, we blend academic excellence with godliness and theoretical knowledge with marketable skills. So, we hope to produce graduates who are not just knowledgeable but who are marketable.”
Other officials of the university at the briefing are the Registrar, Dr Fortune Afatakpa; member BOT, Dr Jonah Akoun; Bursar, Mr Olanrewaju Somefun; and Secretary, Mr Ayo Adetoyinbo.