Protest rocks Akure as student slumps, dies at FUTA campus
A student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Ayomide Akeredolu, has died after slumping in his hostel.
The final-year 500 level student of the Quantity Survey Department, slumped on Thursday in the hostel and was rushed to the school’s health centre.
Doctors confirmed him brought-in-dead.
In a peaceful protest, students the following day Friday, August 25, trooped to the streets, leading to a gridlock on the nearby Akure-Ilesa expressway for several hours.
The gridlock left unwary travellers stranded on the highway.
According to one of the students, he explained that: “We rushed the guy to the health center around 8:30 pm, when we got there, there was power outage, and throughout the oxygen set up, CPR and injections they gave him, the light wasn’t restored, we had to use our flashlights, hard to believe that there’s no backup power supply in the hospital.”
However, the school’s Director, Corporate Commission, Adegbenro Adebanjo, who confirmed the incident in a statement said the deceased had died before he was brought to the health centre.
“According to the doctor on duty, the student was rushed to the Health Centre at about 8:50 pm on Thursday 24th August, 2023,” Adebanjo said.
“He was brought in dead. Efforts to resuscitate him through Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and oxygen therapy proved abortive. He was subsequently taken to the UNIMED Teaching Hospital, Akure by the medical personnel on duty inside the University ambulance.
“Understandably, his friends and colleagues are devastated by the sad development. The management joins them to mourn at this very difficult time.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our students and the bereaved family. May the Good Lord grant his soul eternal repose and give the family and friends the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
“However, due to some perceived misgivings about services at the University Health Centre, students embarked on a protest on Friday. It is important to point out that the protest was not directly related to the death of the student.
“The representatives of the students, at a meeting with management called at the behest of the Vice Chancellor, pointed out some lacuna in the process of accessing services at the Health Centre.
“The management in the course of the meeting directed that immediate remedial measures be taken to address the lacuna and other issues raised by the students
“The corrective measures will be reviewed from time to time to ensure that they are being implemented to the letter, and satisfaction of the students
“Again we commiserate with the family of our beloved student and pray for comfort from the Lord,” Adebanjo explained.
