The management of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has disclosed the identity of a female student who has been unaccounted for over the past four days.
The missing student has been identified as Dorcas Oseghale, a Chemistry undergraduate with matriculation number CHM/2021/165. According to the institution, she was last seen at around 8:00pm on 6 August 2025.
A statement issued by the university’s spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju, confirmed that the matter has been reported to the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force.
The release explained that Dorcas, a resident of Adesanmi House along Ibadan Road, Ile-Ife, had told her roommate she was stepping out to buy food near the students’ village on the Ede Road axis of the university. When she failed to return at the expected time, her roommate attempted to reach her by phone but discovered that both of her lines were switched off.
By 3:00pm on 7 August, a report of her disappearance had surfaced on a student-run social media platform. The university’s Security Unit began monitoring discussions about the incident. At about 6:10pm the same day, a group of Chemistry students searching for Dorcas, accompanied by her roommate, identified as Akinkuade Omobolanle Beatrice from the Department of Agricultural Extension, formally lodged a missing person report with the university’s Security Unit.
Due to the complexity of the case and the constraints of its resources, the Security Unit assigned three personnel to work alongside the students and forward their preliminary findings to the police, who possess the manpower, expertise and technical capacity to conduct a thorough investigation into her disappearance.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, commended students for looking out for one another and for promptly alerting the authorities when they noticed one of their peers was missing. He appealed to the police and other security agencies to use every available means to locate Dorcas.
Professor Bamire also called on members of the public who may have useful information regarding her whereabouts to contact the nearest police station or the Security Unit of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
