A final year Agricultural Economics student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Tobechukwu Okeke, has been found dead in his off-campus hostel. Some say he committed suicide because of financial challenges, citing the suicide note found in his room. Others debunk the suicide theory, claiming that he may have been killed. JAMES OJO (400-Level Mass communication) reports.
Is it a case of suicide or murder? Available evidence – a suicide note – points to the former, but some of his friends alleged that he was killed. Last Sunday, the body of Tobechukwu Okeke, a final year Agricultural Economics student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) was found dangling from the roof in his room. He left a suicide note, which reads: “My mother, father and brother, I am sorry. Sister Ify, may your children never suffer. Uncle Mathias, you gave me all. I am sorry. My department, I am so sorry.”
His off-campus hostel at 6, Odenigwe Lane in Nsukka, Enugu State, was thrown into confusion after his body was found. The late Tobechukwu, with matriculation number 2012/185649, allegedly committed suicide, days after he was said to have complained of financial challenges.
His neighbours returned from church to find his body. His Senate Lodge hostel was jampacked, as students gathered to see the body.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the incident may have happened in the wee hours of Sunday because the late Tobechukwu did not come out of his room in the morning. It was gathered that the body was found by his friend in the evening.
His department was quiet on Monday, following the incident. His mates were seen standing in groups, discussing the incident in hushed tones. There were no lectures for final year students because of the incident. Some of his classmates, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, described the late Tobechuwu as “brilliant and gentle”.
Elizabeth Agwu, his classmate, described him as “easy-going and hardworking student”. She said: “He was popular in the department because people saw him as a nice guy. He made people laugh and he was one of the best football players in the department’s and faculty’s soccer teams.”
CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the late Tobechukwu was absent from lectures for two weeks, leaving his colleagues wondering what was happening because he was not such a student.
Elizabeth said: “We discovered that, in the past two weeks, Tobechukwu did not attend lectures regularly. This was unusual because he was one of the first set of students to arrive for classes. Last week, I was told he called one of our classmates and begged them for money. We don’t know the reason he committed suicide, because he was doing very well in his studies.”
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the body was evacuated by the police, while no arrest has been made. The body was taken away in a Toyota Sienna car at 7:30pm on Sunday.
Some of his friends, who pleaded not to be named, said the late Tobechukwu had been complaining of owing many people.
Kalu Lux-Sanctus, a 400-Level Linguistics student, told CAMPUSLIFE that the late Tobechukwu had just been given a contract to lay electric wire in the newly-accredited Department of Linguistics. “The wiring work was supposed to start last Monday,” said Sanctus, who lives on the same street with the late Tobechukwu.
Bernard Uju, a 400-Level Crop Science student, who said he knew the late Tobechukwu from their first year, stated: “I am not surprised he killed himself. We all saw it coming. We are in different departments but we still get to see each other on a daily basis. He is always looking frustrated, distant and sad. He begged for money a lot and all the money he had went to Bet9ja gambling.
“We noticed recently that he was broke, because he was begging for money. He was an electrician, too. Students used to give him minor electrical repairs. I never heard him saying anything about his family, because I don’t think they supported him financially.”
Reliving his last encounter with the late Tobechukwu, Chinonso Nebechi, a 300-Level Political Science student, who lives close to his hostel, said he saw him cleaning his mouth on Saturday morning.
“I saw him on Saturday when he was brushing his teeth. I didn’t know it would be the last time I would see him,” Chinonso said, adding that he did not believe the suicide theory.
He said: “I didn’t know it was Tobechukwu who died until I saw his picture. I still believe he was killed. How did the supposed suicide go? He was tall and his ceiling is not too high. When the body was found, his feet were on the floor. Only God knows what happened to him on Sunday morning.”
CAMPUSLIFE spoke to the landord of the hostel, who declined to give his name. The landlord said: “We have given out enough information to the public already. I am not ready to talk on the issue again. What we are planning now is how to bury the body. For now, we are still trying to resolve the matter with the police. When the event happened, they came to his room and searched everywhere, yet they are demanding for money. That is all I can say for now.”
The university’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Okwun Omeaku, said the incident did not happen on campus.
He said: “We are in the know of the development. Even though the victim was our student, there is nothing we can say about it because the incident happened in an off-campus hostel. We will allow the police to do their investigation. The Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the university is aware of the development too; we will make statement based on the report that will be submitted to the school management by the CSO after the police investigation.”
