Students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, in Osun State, have cried out over bed bug invasion of their halls of residence.

The students, who spoke through their Students Union, claimed that the varsity management has failed to live up to expectations and have left students at the mercy of blood sucking bed bugs in their halls.

In an open letter signed by the Union President, Oyekan Ibukun Edward, the students threatened to showdown if the issue is not taken care by the varsity management.

The letter reads in part, “It is no longer news how the management of various varsities across the nation maltreat students by harbouring and accommodating them on filthy and “Kirikiri-like” prisons called halls of residence/hostels.”

The students further alleged that the university management has refused to fumigate hostels even after resumption of freshmen.

“To avoid the envisaged embarrassing situation, we wrote to the management through her Division of Students’ Affairs to ensure that the Halls of Residence are fumigated before resumption, that is, Sunday 30th April, 2017 to avoid the barbaric “Military coup” of bedbugs we have even been facing severely before the last session ended (2015/2016 session) and to ensure that our fresh students are not affected with this dangerous bedbugs as the need for them to live happily in their halls can never be flinched and flung.

“Bedbugs should be extincted from our halls of residence. We say no to their parades in our rooms, they are not our roommates.”

The students also raised an alarm that bushes have begun to overtake their hostels thereby leaving them open to scorpions, snakes and other dangerous animals.

Checks on halls of residence revealed that some students have abandoned their rooms to sleep in reading rooms due to the presence of bed bugs in their rooms and on their bunks.

A freshman who spoke under anonymity said “I have taken my bed to another place, the bedbugs are rampant in my room.”

Reacting, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Anthony Elujoba, however, said his administration is doing much to see to the welfare of Students.

He also alleged that students stalled fumigation of hostels.

“When we asked them to leave the halls they did not and there was little we could have done in that case, hostels like Angola, Mozambique were fumigated.” (Channels TV)

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