Some irate students of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree on Saturday, set the school clinic and medical equipment ablaze over the death of one of their colleagues, Igbere TV reports.
Igberr TV had reported that one Aminu Sheu Hammed, a Higher National Diploma (HND) I student of the institution’s Department of Applied Chemistry, slumped in the examination hall on Friday, May 31, and was rushed to the school clinic, where he later died.
The protesting students, who stormed the clinic on Saturday morning, set the school’s ambulance, drug and other equipment on fire.
Our correspondent reports that the students were chanting various anti-management songs to protest the death of their colleague.
They had wanted to set the whole clinic ablaze but for timely intervention of the school security agents who forestalled it.
They alleged that medical personnel had left the clinic as at the time Hammed was brought in after slumping in the examination hall.
Igbere. TV reports that Hameed had slumped immediately after writing his second semester examination and died hours later at a hospital outside the school campus.
He was said to have been observing the Ramadan fast before he suddenly lost balance after submitting his paper to invigilators at the PLT examination hall.
Reacting to the incident, the Dean of Students’, Dr. A. O. Olamide, said: “It was painful to hear about the sudden death of our student who was reportedly rejected by the school medical clinic but rushed down to a nearby hospital.”
On his part, the Public Relations Officer of the school, Mr. Tope Abiola, said apart from the burnt clinic, property worth millions of naira were also destroyed by the students.
Abiola said that drug, equipment, vehicles as well as medical facilities were razed down by the inferno.
He, however, said it was not true that there was no medical personnel to attend to Hammed when he was brought to the clinic.
Abiola said that when Hammed was rushed to the school clinic at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, medical personnel on duty made frantic effort to resuscitate him but to no avail.
He said that Hammed was immediately referred to another hospital in town where he later died.
“It’s very shocking to us that the institution would lose such a precious soul. He slumped shortly after writing his examination in the hall and he was immediately rushed to the school’s clinic.
“Our medical personnel were on duty and they made efforts to resuscitate him. He was later taken to another hospital in the school’s ambulance but we lost him in that hospital.
“He was a Muslim and he was observing the Ramadan fasting. He would have slumped due to loss of stamina. He was buried this (Friday) evening in his hometown, Oba’agun, community close to Iree.
“We sympathise with his family and we pray to God to console them,” Abiola said.
But some students have blamed the school’s clinic for Hameed’s death.
Some of them accused the medical personnel of negligence of duty alleging that some essential staff had closed for the day when the deceased was brought in around 4:30pm on Friday.
Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone on Saturday, Hameed’s classmate who craved anonymity for fear of being victimized, said the deceased was not attended to when he was rushed to the centre.
She said Hameed was later rushed to another hospital, Ogo Oluwa hospital outside the campus where he died few minutes later.
School Shut Over Incident
Meanwhile, to forestall severe breakdown of law and order on campus, the school management has ordered the immediate closure of the campus and asked students to vacate the premises.
A statement issued by Mr. Abiola on behalf of the school Registrar on Saturday reads, “this is to inform the general public that Osun State Polytechnic Iree has been closed down.
“As a result of this, all students are to vacate the school premises with immediate effect.”
