The management of Federal University Oye Ekiti has dismissed reports of a bandit invasion and shutdown of the institution as false, assuring students, parents, and guardians that academic activities remain ongoing and the campus is fully secure.

The denial followed a post by a social media user identified as FS Yusuf, who published a claim on the X platform via the handle @FS Yusuff, alleging that FUOYE was shutting down due to continuous bandit attacks and that students had been told to stay home.

In a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs and Communication, Dr Sunday Saanu, the university described the publication as baseless and fictitious. "There has never been a bandit attack in FUOYE. We are safe in FUOYE. There is no cause for alarm. It is a pity that some people get insidious pleasure in spreading fake news, deriving joy in causing panic among the public," Saanu stated.

The university spokesman attributed the false report to deliberate mischief by individuals seeking social media traffic for financial gain. "This is one of the antics of some lazy minds looking for traffic on social media to get money," he added.

The denial comes against the backdrop of an earlier report that academic activities at the university were briefly disrupted on Thursday following unverified accounts of suspected bandit movement around the Aiyegbaju and Oye Ekiti communities in Ekiti State. The reports, which circulated rapidly among students and residents, prompted an emergency advisory for students to remain indoors as a precautionary measure while security agencies moved into the affected areas.

Lectures were suspended temporarily as authorities assessed the situation, with eyewitness accounts pointing to a heavy security presence in parts of Aiyegbaju and surrounding communities. Residents remained on edge amid uncertainty over the nature and scale of the reported threat.

Students had expressed concern over the sudden suspension of lectures and its potential impact on academic schedules and ongoing assessments. Some residents also called for stronger security deployment in border communities linking the campus to nearby rural settlements.

With the university management now firmly on record, clearing the air, officials have urged the public to rely only on verified communications from authorised university channels and to disregard unverified claims circulating on social media platforms.