UNILAG Press Release.
The attention of the Office of Dean of Student Affairs, University of Lagos has been drawn to the misinformation and innuendos being peddled among students and the general public in respect of the unfortunate death of Mr. Eniola, Ileriayo Jacob.
It is therefore important to state in very clear term as follows:
– Mr. Eniola, Ileriayo Jacob, a 300 level student of Microbiology was taken in a delirious state to the Medical Centre on March 19, 2016.
– His condition was so serious that he was immediately transferred to LUTH.
– He passed on in LUTH the following day.
– The initial information was that the late student MAY have committed suicide by drinking an insecticide called SNIPER.
– As soon as the news of the death became public, some people started posting comments on the social media, especially Facebook, suggesting that the late Mr. Eniola Ileriayo Jacob was forced to drink the SNIPER.
– The family of the deceased also expressed strong doubts about the authenticity of the Sniper suicide story, insisting that their son was probably murdered.
– On the date of the late Mr. Eniola Ileriayo Jacob’s burial, the Uncle of the late student called to confirm the participation of Unilag students in the funeral event.
– The Dean of Student Affairs contacted the Executive of ULSU who stated that students would be unable to attend the funeral at Ifo, Ogun State.
– On the date of the funeral, the Office of the Dean of Students received information from the family of the late student that they had asked the Police to arrest four young men who created a scene at the grave side when they claimed that they could “resurrect” the deceased.
– It turned out that the four young men were members of an unregistered fellowship group on Campus tagged “C & S”. Indeed, one of the young men was NOT a student, even though this was unknown to many members of the said C & S fellowship.
– Following the classification of the case as HOMICIDE by the Ogun State Police Command, the four people arrested needed to be transferred to Lagos State, which was the scene of the sad incident.
– In line with Police operations, the transfer could only be effected if the death was incidented by the University Authority since the deceased was a student of the University.
– Consequently, the University Management was requested to formally report the case to the Lagos State Police Command for further investigation. This the University has complied with.
While the University commiserates with the family of the deceased, students are enjoined to go about their normal academic work, be vigilant and security conscious. Students should not be misguided and misinformed on an issue that bothers on the death of a fellow student in an unusual circumstance, which is being appropriately investigated by the police.
All members of the University Community are free and enjoined to provide useful information to the relevant authorities, in order to ensure that justice is done to all the parties involved.
