Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) have accused the university’s medical officials of negligence, alleging that their inaction led to the tragic death of Ayodele Israel, a 100-level Agricultural Economics and Farm Management student. Ayodele, who studied at the College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), reportedly died following an asthmatic attack.
During a protest on Thursday, students demanded justice for Ayodele, claiming that the medical staff’s failure to act appropriately directly contributed to the fatal outcome. They expressed their dissatisfaction with the handling of the emergency, highlighting a perceived lack of preparedness and response from the university’s health services.
Olasunkanmi Olajide, the Acting Head of the Directorate of Public Relations, responded with a statement denying any culpability on the part of the medical staff. Olajide confirmed Ayodele’s death but attributed the unfortunate outcome to the actions of Ayodele’s friends, who he claimed handled the situation unprofessionally.
According to the statement titled “Tragic Loss of Ayodele Israel Ifeoluwa: FUNAAB’s Response and Actions,” Ayodele suffered a severe asthmatic attack while off-campus. Olajide stated, “In an unprofessional attempt to help, his friends inserted a spoon into his mouth and poured water on him to resuscitate him. Subsequently, efforts were made to find a motorcycle (Okada) to transport him to the University Health Centre.”
He noted that upon Ayodele’s arrival at the health center, medical staff, including doctors, a matron, and nurses, attended to him immediately. However, they determined that Ayodele had already passed away before reaching the health center and acknowledged that the outcome might have been different if an ambulance was called instead of resorting to an Okada for transportation.
In a show of support, Prof. Babatunde Kehinde, the Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, personally met with Ayodele’s parents to express condolences and offer support. The university has also constituted a committee to thoroughly investigate the incident, aiming to determine the immediate and underlying causes and to understand the circumstances to prevent future occurrences.
The investigation is expected to address the concerns raised by students and ensure that measures are put in place to improve the university’s emergency response and medical care protocols.