Summit University, Offa, has moved decisively to shut down a false report of a bandits' attack on its campus, with the Vice Chancellor personally rebutting the claim and warning that those responsible for spreading the misinformation may be held accountable.

Professor Abiodun Musa Aibinu told LEADERSHIP that the false claim first surfaced quietly online before finding wider circulation on 1 April, when it spread rapidly across WhatsApp groups and social media platforms, triggering panic among parents and confusion among students. "Messages flew across WhatsApp groups. Posts resurfaced. Panic followed. Parents are worried. Students questioned. And in the noise of an April Fool's atmosphere, a falsehood began to look like fact," he said.

The Vice Chancellor was unequivocal in his response. There was no attack. The campus remains safe, calm, and fully operational, with no security breach recorded. University authorities had already issued an official statement debunking the claim before it resurfaced, making its reappearance on 1 April a second wave of a falsehood the institution had already formally addressed.

Aibinu confirmed that an investigation into the source of the claim is underway and that those found responsible may face consequences. He also used the moment to deliver a pointed message about the responsibilities that come with education. "Sharing unverified information or asking others to verify it for you only fuels the problem. True education is shown in restraint, in critical thinking, and in the discipline to verify before amplifying. If it is not confirmed, it should not be shared anywhere," he said.

For a university community already navigating genuine security anxieties across Nigeria's Tertiary Institutions, the deliberate or careless spread of false attack reports is not a harmless prank. It causes real distress to families, disrupts academic life, and erodes the public trust that institutions depend on to function.