The authorities of Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, has officially debunked reports of a fire incident on its campus, describing the claim as false and a product of “depraved, artificial intelligence–generated misinformation.”
Additionally, Babcock university denied allegations that it had indefinitely delayed the start of its second semester due to the purported incident, stating that students should begin on Monday, January 12, 2026, in accordance with the academic calendar.
This was revealed in a statement provided to journalists on Thursday by Dr. Johnson Akintayo, Associate Vice President, Communications, Media, and Branding.
According to Akintayo, a false social media post that included an AI-generated image claiming to depict a campus fire outbreak caught the university’s notice.
He claims that the publication wrongly claimed that the reported fire event caused the university to delay the start of the second semester of the 2025–2026 academic year.
He said, “The University categorically condemns this depraved publication as a complete mischief and falsehood, deliberately crafted to mislead and misinform our students, their parents/guardians, and the general public.
“The University wishes to reiterate that it operates well-defined, credible, and verifiable official channels of communication through which information is disseminated to students, parents, staff, and the general public.
“The University does not communicate official decisions through anonymous or unofficial platforms.”
According to the university’s current academic schedule, Akintayo emphasised that the resume date that was previously announced to students prior to the first semester break is still the same.
“Students and their parents/guardians are therefore advised to entirely disregard the fabricated story circulating online, as it has no basis in truth or reality,” he added.
He further clarified that there was no fire incident anywhere on the university’s campuses.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there was no fire incident, and there is no fire incident whatsoever in any of the campuses of Babcock University.
“The University’s campuses are safe, secure, and fully prepared to receive students as scheduled from Monday, January 12, through Wednesday, January 14, 2026,” the statement read.
The university advised the public to rely only on official university communication channels for correct information and warned disseminators to stop making and disseminating false and malicious statements.
It added that “Babcock University remains one of the most secure and proactive universities in Nigeria and will continue to act at all times in the best interests of its students, parents, staff, and the general public.”
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