UNN confirms four students dead after off-campus party - Punch Newspapers

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, has confirmed the deaths of four students following an off-campus gathering in the university community and announced three days of mourning in their honour. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, disclosed this in a statement posted on the university’s Facebook page on Thursday, adding that six other students who attended the gathering were receiving treatment at different hospitals. According to the statement, 10 students from different departments attended the party organised to celebrate a friend who had completed his final-year examinations. The four deceased reportedly died after consuming substances suspected to be alcohol and drugs. “Within these three days, all social and academic activities will be suspended in the University,” Ortuanya said, describing the incident as “a death too many”. The university management expressed condolences to the families of the deceased, saying, “The Management, staff and the students of the University of Nigeria share in their grief at this difficult moment and pray for the repose of the souls of the departed.”Make PUNCH part of your everyday experience.Add us to your Preferred Sources The university also clarified that the students involved came from different departments, dismissing reports that they were all members of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Four die after party at UNN off-campus lodge NLNG, NCDMB commit $9m to research in six varsities Pensioners receive gratuities after 26 years, seek outstanding payments The incident occurred at an off-campus lodge in the Hilltop area of Nsukka, where four people were reported dead after a gathering. Videos circulating on social media showed several people lying motionless inside a room. The Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students, UNN chapter, had earlier dismissed reports that seven Pharmacy students died in the incident, saying there was no confirmed report of any Pharmacy student among the victims. The association’s president, Onah Olisaemeka, said he visited Faith Foundation Hospital, where the bodies of four people — two males and two females — were deposited. He said he did not recognise any of the deceased as a Pharmacy student. The university said it was working with security agencies to establish the actual cause of the deaths. It also reiterated its ban on sign-out celebrations, advising students to treat the completion of their studies as a period for reflection rather than wild celebrations. The management further suspended a planned town hall meeting between the university community and the Enugu State Governor. Christabel Ndoeche

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