The management of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has confirmed the death of four students following an off-campus party, while six others have been hospitalised.
The four students died following suspected hard drug overdose at a party held at their apartment in End in Praise Lodge, Hilltop area of Nsukka, the university’s host community.
Onah Olisaemeka, president of the UNN chapter of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS), and Obasi Chibuike, the association’s secretary, confirmed the incident in a statement but said the victims were not pharmacy students, contrary to reports.
Addressing journalists on the university campus, Simon Ortunaya, vice-chancellor of UNN, said 10 students were involved in the incident, which occurred on Wednesday.
Ortunaya said four died at the scene, while the other six were taken to hospital, where they are receiving treatment.
The vice-chancellor said the university received a distress call at about 10pm on November 11 and immediately deployed its security personnel to the lodge where the party was held.
“About 10pm on the 11th, the university got a distress call that some of our students and those that have graduated had crisis,” he said.
“And the security immediately moved into action and on arriving at the scene, discovered that there was a house party in a lodge called Praise Lot lodge outside the university precisely around the Hilltop community in the peripheral of the University of Nigeria Nsukka campus.
“It was discovered that four people died immediately, six other persons are presently in the hospital as they were rushed to hospital and they are receiving treatment at the moment.”
The vice-chancellor extended the university’s condolences to the families and friends of the deceased, describing the incident as tragic and painful.
He said the university shared in the grief of parents who had made sacrifices to educate their children.
Ortunaya said the incident was a reminder of the fragility of life, adding that the university had consistently discouraged graduation and sign-out parties.
“We feel that graduation is a moment of introspection,” he said.
“A moment when the graduates will think deeply about the four years, five years or six years that they have spent at the university and prepare their mind about what they are going to face in the outside world.”
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the university said the students had organised the party to celebrate one of their friends who had completed his final-year examination.
It confirmed that the four students died after consuming substances suspected to be alcohol and drugs, while the remaining six were at various stages of recovery.
The university declared three days of mourning for the deceased students, during which all social and academic activities would be suspended.
Ortunaya described the incident as “a death too many” and extended the university’s condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased.
He also suspended a town-hall meeting earlier scheduled between the university community and the Enugu state governor.
The vice-chancellor said the university was cooperating with security agencies to establish the actual cause of the students’ deaths.
He reiterated the ban on sign-out celebrations and urged students to avoid activities that could endanger their lives.
Comments