Kwara Varsity denies media report of undergraduate missing in Ondo
The management of Al-Hikmah University, Igbaja, has denied the media report of a missing 300-level Computer Engineering student of the institution, Akindoyo Gideon, in the Irele local government area of Ondo State.
According to a report by LEADERSHIP newspaper, Gideon was seen last Monday, June 11, 2024, between Igbobini and Ode Irele communities in Ese Odo local government and Irele local government areas of the state before he went missing.
According to a source, the missing person was seen when he headed to his parent’s farm at Lumeko village, located between Igbobini and Ode Irele communities, adding that Gideon travelled home to meet his parents and later went to the farm with his motorcycle to harvest cassava but was yet to return home since then.
The source informed that the development raised suspicion that he might have been kidnapped on the farm because his motorcycle was seen on the farm while his whereabouts remained unknown.
Meanwhile, the institution’s management, through a statement by its spokesperson Femi Afolayan, denied the report, saying the missing student was not from the institution and that the institution does not have any Computer Engineering Department at Igbaja campus, adding that no student of the university bears Akindoyo Gideon, either in Igbaja campus (Faculty of Agriculture) or Department of Computer Science (Adeta campus).
The statement reads, “The attention of the Management of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, has been drawn to an online publication “Leadership” of Sunday, 23rd June, 2024, which carried a story with the above caption.
“According to the story, one “Akindoyo Gideon, a 300-level Computer Engineering student of Al-Hikmah University, Igbaja, in Kwara State, has been reportedly missing in the Irele Local government area of Ondo State. Gideon was last seen on Monday, June 11, 2024, between Igbobini and Oderele communities in Ede Odo Local government and Irele Local government areas of the State before he went missing”.
However, our records revealed that:
1. Al-Hikmah University does not have a Computer Engineering Department at Igbaja campus.
2. No student of our University bears Akindoyo Gideon, either in the Igbaja campus (Faculty of Agriculture) or the Department of Computer Science (Adeta campus).
3. A search of the list of all our registered students indicates that Al-Hikmah University does not have any student with such a name.
4. Lastly, none of our students, who are currently on Eid Adha break, is missing, as the story claimed.
“This refutal is for the attention of the general public and, especially, parents and guardians of our students,” the statement added.
