NEWSLETTERS: An ugly week with bad stories in Nigerian campuses
This past week was characterised with sad stories in different universities, polytechnics across Nigeria among the students. Student activist killed hours after facing LASU panel’ The Education Rights Campaign has lamented the death of a student activist, Nurudeen Alawonle, popularly known as Omomeewa, some hours after he was invited to face a disciplinary panel set up by the Lagos State University. The PUNCH had reported that Alowonle was shot dead on Wednesday, according to a release by the LASU Students’ Union on Thursday. It was gathered that the activist, who had a four-month-old baby, was shot dead around LASU U-turn, Iba road. UNIZIK student commits suicide over alleged hike in school fees A 200-Level student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, has reportedly committed suicide over an alleged hike in school fees. The deceased, a native of the Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, was said to be studying Industrial Physics. His body was reportedly found dangling inside one of the hostel blocks on campus. A source who preferred anonymity said, “The deceased locked himself inside the room for days and was sobbing over his inability to pay the new regime of school fees introduced by the management,” adding, “when the door was broken, he was seen dangling with a rope around his neck.” Another source, who described the deceased as a quiet and calm student, said he never showed any signs of depression before the incident. The Chief Security Officer of the institution, Ken Chukwura, said the deceased’s roommates had been invited for questioning while investigations had commenced. Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that investigations had commenced. The students of the institution had recently protested for five days over a hike in tuition. The management later slashed the fees after a meeting with the Students’ Union Government of the university. Taraba University Student Found Dead In Hostel A 200-level student of the Taraba State University in the Peace and Conflict Resolution Department has died after a brief illness. According to an anonymous source, the student identified as Patience Samson was rushed to the school clinic on Saturday after her fellow students discovered she was critically ill. She was attended to and discharged later in the day. However, the source further disclosed that Samson was found dead in her hostel by Sunday morning. The University’s Director of Communication, Sa’ad Mohammed, confirmed the incident to Channels Television via a telephone interview, stating that more details regarding the student’s death will be revealed. Her remains have now been deposited at a morgue awaiting autopsy. Nigerian Polytechnic Student Kills Pregnant Girlfriend, Buries Her In Shallow Grave A polytechnic student in Nigeria, Mumini Abubakar has killed his girlfriend, Franca Elisha, and secretly buried her remains in a shallow grave. Abubakar was said to have allegedly killed Franca, a Diploma II student of the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa state, in the process of aborting her pregnancy. SaharaReporters learnt that the late Franca had informed her boyfriend, Abubakar of her pregnancy, and the latter decided to terminate it. He was said to have allegedly sought the help of his friend, Huzaifa Shu’aibu, a student of the College of Health Technology, Mubi, who injected Franca with a drug to terminate the pregnancy. The duo and one other accomplice have been arrested in connection to the crime, as revealed by the police. Spokesperson for the police in the state, DSP Suleiman Nguroje, on Saturday, confirmed to SaharaReporters that Mumini Abubakar, Huzaifa Shu’aibu, and Rabi’u Adamu were apprehended in connection to the crime. Abubakar, a resident of Sanda ward under the Yola-South Local Government Area had allegedly treated the late Franca like his wife, leading to the pregnancy. However, when he was informed by Franca of the pregnancy, he decided to abort it. He reportedly took the deceased into his room located at the students’ community behind Adamawa State University, Mubi, for the abortion on August 6, 2021. A friend of the deceased who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “To carry out their planned abortion, the accused invited his friend and a student of the College of Health and Technology, Mubi, Huzaifa Shu’aibu, who supplied an injection for the abortion. “Huzaifa injected Franca with a powerful drug for abortion after which she fainted immediately, but as God would have it, she later regained consciousness. “In order to perfect the termination of the pregnancy, Huzaifa gave the late Franca a second round of the injection after she had regained her consciousness, but unfortunately she fainted for the second time and subsequently died. “Thereafter, the duo invited one of their friends and a student of the polytechnic, Rabiu Adamu, and the trio waited until midnight to Bury the corpse in a shallow grave. “The remains of Franca were buried along with a mobile phone and a National Identity Card, belonging to the deceased in an effort to destroy evidence.” However, the father of the deceased, Elisha Iliya, a resident of Sabon Gari, Mubi, told our reporter that “my daughter left home on the fateful day for school, but did not return home as usual”. “We searched everywhere as well as made contacts, but to no avail. “We decided to contact her friend and fellow student, who told us she last saw my daughter with Abubakar on the day she was killed while running to the hostel because it was raining. “It was the girl who helped us to locate the whereabouts of Abubakar, to effect his arrest. “Abubakar was arrested while playing football as if nothing had happened. He however led the police to my daughter’s shallow gravesite,” he said. Confirming the incident, Nguroje, said, “The death of the lady was reported to the command after which the Commissioner of Police, Adamu Alhaji, ordered the investigation and arrest of the suspects. “Investigation so far revealed that it was Mumini Abubakar who impregnated her and that it was Huzaifa Shu’aibu, who administered the injection, while Rabiu Adamu assisted