December 3rd, 2025
It’s a terrifying moment in Kwara State Polytechnic yesterday when a fierce clash broke out allegedly involving rival cult groups which led to the death of one Oyelade Habeeb Olawale with the matriculation number of ND/20/CEC/FT/206.
The management of the school confirmed the killing of the student, even though he’s a former student. The scenario was just a reminder of the dark past that the institution has worked tirelessly to escape.
For many years, the school has enjoyed relative peace due to efforts to comb the campus and its environment of cult violence. With what happened yesterday, the fragile peace that had been felt is now altered.
It’s more concerning that an ex-student could return to the school environment to unleash violence, which raises a deep concerns about the school security, intelligence gathering, and perimeter control.
However, the management is commended for its swift response and collaboration with the security apparatus. The arrest of suspects is reassuring. However, arrests alone are not enough. Justice must be thorough, transparent, and deterrent. Anything less sends the wrong message.
This incident must serve as a turning point, not just another unfortunate episode that fades with time.
To ensure the school doesn’t glide back into its inglorious era when cult clashes were rampant, the school needs to take urgent steps. Who knows what might happen in the coming days? What if the other groups plan a reprisal attack? It may continue in that space.
The school needs to strengthen its internal security architecture, ensure night patrol units for the hostels and the surrounding areas. Surveillance systems such as CCTV cameras at major entry and exit points must be institutionalized. Security must be proactive.
No former student, non-student or unknown individual should be allowed to freely walk within the campus environment without proper identification. The campus must no longer be an open haven for criminal networks.
Kwarapoly had witnessed the ugly days — the days of fear, lockdown, panic, and unstable academic calendars due to cult activities. They were days that ruined futures, put some families in perpetual pain, and stained reputations. The institution shouldn’t fold its hands and allow the days to relapse.
The school must do everything to ensure that the recent killing must not be seen as the beginning of another dark chapter, but a moment that the school will draw a line and say, never again.
To the family of the deceased, no words can truly heal the pain. But the greatest honour to his memory is ensuring that no other parent buries a child because of cult violence again.