Protest rocks FUTA over death of 500-level student

A 500-level student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) has died after alleged difficulty in accessing emergency healthcare.

Sources in the know of the development said the student, identified as Ayomide Akeredolu, died at around 8:50 pm on Thursday.

A student claimed Akeredolu was rushed to the university health centre but was not attended to due to the inability of his colleagues to provide an ID that shows he is an undergraduate of the institution.

The incident led to a protest by angry colleagues who demanded justice for the deceased student on Friday.

Reacting to the development, Adegbenro Adebanjo, the institution’s director of corporate communication, denied the allegations of negligence and institutional failure made against the university healthcare centre.

He said Akeredolu “slumped in his hostel and all attempts at resuscitation even at the health centre failed”.

Adebanjo said the doctors at the institution’s health centre, as a result, “recorded that the student was brought in dead”.

“FUTA mourns the sudden demise of one of our students, Ayomide Akeredolu, who died on Thursday, August 24, 2023, in the course of a sudden bout of illness,” the director said in a statement.

“According to the doctor on duty, the student was rushed to the health centre at about 8:50 pm on Thursday 24th August 2023. 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.”

While commiserating with the family of the student, Adebanjo said the ensuing protest was “not directly related to the death of the student”.

He argued that the aggrieved students “only pointed out gaps in service delivery at the health facility” which he said the university is committed to addressing.

“The representatives of the students at a meeting with management, at the behest of the VC, pointed out some lacuna in the process of accessing services at the health centre,” he added.

“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.”