Student dies; colleagues allege negligence, university denies claims

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

Students at Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Ifetedo Campus, have claimed that negligence at the university’s health centre contributed to the death of final‑year student Grace Osunlakin. The university has denied these allegations.

Grace, a final‑year Criminology and Security Studies student, reportedly died on Wednesday, sparking protests among campus students.

Students say that Osunlakin had visited the university health centre earlier in the day after falling ill, but was allegedly told to return to her hostel without receiving treatment.

They claim her condition worsened, and when they sought medical help in the evening, the health centre was closed.

According to the students, the delay in accessing care contributed to her death.

One protester said the deceased was asthmatic and had sought treatment at the health facility earlier that day.

“The clinic allegedly asked her to go back and rest. Later, when her condition deteriorated, we returned but found the health centre closed. We eventually took her to another hospital, but it was too late,” the student said.

The students described the incident as part of a broader concern about campus healthcare access and called for improvements in medical services.

However, the university rejected the negligence claims, describing them as misleading.

In a statement, the university’s spokesperson, Adesoji Ademola, said Osunlakin had a documented history of asthma since her admission and was last treated at the university health centre on 26 March 2026.

The statement added that information from her friend and housemate, Miss Durosinmi Mariam, indicated that Osunlakin returned from a Christian fellowship on the night of the incident and later complained of stomach pain.

The university said she subsequently went to the toilet, where she cried out in distress before being assisted back to her room by her housemate.

It said that as her condition worsened, arrangements were made at about 11:30 p.m. to take her to a medical facility.

The statement noted that movement was affected by an unannounced Oro ritual in Ifetedo, making transportation difficult, but students eventually transported her on a motorcycle to the Community Health Centre in Ikija, Ifetedo.

The university maintained that Osunlakin was not taken to the university health centre at any time on the night of the incident.

According to the statement, she lost consciousness upon arrival at the community health centre, where the matron on duty later confirmed her death in the presence of her friends and university officials.

It added that her lecturers subsequently took her to Goshen Specialist Hospital in Ondo for further confirmation, where she was reportedly declared dead on arrival before her remains were deposited at the Divine Haven Funeral Home.

The university expressed condolences to the deceased’s family and maintained that the circumstances surrounding her death did not support allegations of negligence by its health services.