Terrorists threaten to bomb University of Ibadan before October 1

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.
In the mail, the group described the university as an
embarrassment to Nigeria for bringing western
education.
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.”