On July 15, 2023, a Twitter user (@daveshewrote) publicly called out Caleb University, a private tertiary institution situated in Ikorodu, Lagos, for attempting to suppress students from discussing an incident involving robbery, saying the school is “wanting to die it”.
What do we know about the robbery so far?
A Caleb University student, who wishes to remain anonymous, informed Citizen that a robbery took place in one of the wings of Susannah Hall Girls’ Hostel in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 15, 2023.
The source who shared his account based on anonymity for fear of backlash by the university’s management, says the event unfolded as a girl sighted one of the robbers when she went to the bathroom at midnight. “She panicked and tried to run back to her room, but her roommates locked her outside, probably to protect themselves from the robbers. Because of the girl, people were alerted to the robbery situation,” the source shared.
The incident didn’t end there. The girl was reportedly attacked and quickly taken to the clinic, while some security personnel were allegedly assaulted.
Caleb University’s Media and Publication Specialist, Olawale Adekoya, also revealed to the media that three phones and one laptop were stolen (with the laptop retrieved) at the Hall. “The statement was circulated through a WhatsApp broadcast message,” our anonymous source corroborated.
Was there a second robbery?
From the anonymous source and social media user, we learnt that the robbers allegedly returned a second time on the same night to Elisha Hall, another female hostel in the school. The source also claimed that a riot started in the boys’ hostel because they wanted to “chase the robbers away and help the girls out.”
However, based on what we’ve observed, students have since debunked the story that the second robbery occurred.
A Caleb history of robberies and culture of silence
July 15 is not the first and only day of robberies and student suppression at Caleb University.
A 300-level student shared with @Daveshewrote that there had been fires and riots in the school in the last two semesters due to multiple phone and laptop thefts that had been “successfully died down” or covered up by the school.
Even while Citizen tried to investigate deeper into the issue, we experienced a lot of roadblocks from students (and their siblings) who refused to talk for fear of backlash from school authorities.
But why all the need for secrecy? Students aren’t allowed to speak on certain issues about the school. This creates a culture of fear, with students fearing suspension or expulsion.
Our anonymous source states, “People caught not obeying the ‘school’s code of confidentiality’ are usually suspended or expelled.” He goes further to share with us that talking to us is to his detriment. “I just want to finish my degree and get out of here,” the source added.
Any word from school authorities?
Through the school’s security statement, students are informed that security personnel are working closely with police authorities to investigate the incident and apprehend the culprits.
He also circulated on WhatsApp a series of “truths” about what “really went on” in Sussanah Hall, most of which our source has claimed to be “lies.”
Citizen also contacted the university’s spokesperson for comments and to answer some of our specific questions. We, however, haven’t gotten any response at this time.
