Panic As Mysterious Death Hit a Nigerian University

Cursory: A Nigerian University has been thrown into commotion following the ‘mysterious’ deaths in the University.

Life is indeed a mystery. Often have I heard our fathers make comments like, things don’t happen for nothing.

That mantra has played out in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) when mysteriously about 13 students reportedly died of strange illness within a few weeks.

ESUT is located in Agbani, Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, South-east Nigeria. It is owned by the Enugu State Government.

Some students confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that several of their colleagues died due to sudden illness.

“We don’t know the cause of the deaths. Even some people I asked said they don’t know either,” Ekene Nnamani, a graduating student of mass communication in the institution reported.

A 400 level law student of the institution added that at least 13 students had died of strange illness.

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By the time this information was gotten, a student had died recently in the institution hospital, ESUT Teaching Hospital Enugu.

National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) South-east Zone, reacting to the mysterious deaths had asked the institution’s management to shut the school to save lives.

In a statement by NANS Regional Coordinator, South-east Zone, he stated:

“Our investigations have shown a high level of negligence on the part of the school administration, ranging from non-functional students’ clinic, which is a major factor for the unfortunate deaths of our students,” the group said.

“In the light of these disturbing findings, the leadership of NAN Zone F has taken a decision to order the immediate shutdown of the institution from tomorrow 24 August 2023, till further notice.

“This action is necessary to engage in extensive meetings with relevant stakeholders including the university management, medical experts, security agencies and students’ representatives.”

The Dean of Students Affairs Department of the institution, Jude Udenta, in a statement on Thursday, condemned the students’ union for calling for a shutdown of the school.

He said, contrary to speculations that the victims all died of a strange illness, one of the students, who died last weekend, lost his life in a motorcycle accident.

“The case of two young ESUT students who died somewhere in a lodge in Enugu town is still under investigation. What could we have done to stop the tragedy?

“Meanwhile, immediately we got the information, we held meetings with our security committee on these matters. We asked them to sensitise all off-campus students about use of generators and such other risk factors

“About the remaining two cases still under investigation, they were said to have died of certain undisclosed ailments which they tried to tackle in town through self-medication.”

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The dean said the university authority has asked pastors to pray for divine intervention to bring “an end to such tragedies” on campus.

Meanwhile, the Enugu State Government has ordered an investigation into the deaths in the university.

A delegation of the state government led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed this during a visit to the institution on Friday.

Mr Onyia, a professor, said the government decided to go beyond an earlier directive to the State Commissioner for Health, Emmanuel Obi, to investigate the institution and its medical facility, because of its genuine concern about the welfare of students.

On his part, the State Commissioner for Health, Mr Obi, a professor, said the reports of the deaths in the university were still yet to be verified.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Aloysius Okolie, admitted that some students and non-students outside the university environment died as a result of “varying factors” such as accidents and terminal illnesses, among others.

“We had to trace the deaths. Formerly, we had a case of two deaths, and we are aware of what happened at an off campus at GRA, ESUT College of Medicine, where a lady and her boyfriend were in a room and one of them died and the other survived. The provost said as soon as they finish the autopsy, the report will be on my table.

“The one that the registrar also reported to me was said to have died somewhere in Abia State, and that she had been away for three months. We got the contact of the family, wrote a condolence letter and approved the sum of N100,000 for the family,” he said.

“Then there was a former National Youth Service Corps member that reported from the South-west and left on the grounds of being sick, and three months later, she died. We sent our condolence letter and some sum of money.

“The other one that happened was an accident in Enugu. The student went to church in Enugu and had an accident on the way back and died. Another lady that had been battling a terminal disease, anemia, died and we saw it on social media,” the vice-chancellor added.