KWASU rebuts campus deaths reports

AUTHORITIES of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Kwara State, have reiterated their commitment to the provision of welfare and security of both students and staff of the institution.

A statement from the University Relations Office, signed by Yusif Suleiman, said that a report on recent deaths in the university (not Tribune) was not only misleading but mischievous, and that it attempted to create tension among students, staff and parents.

It reads: “Kwara State University does not take the welfare, safety and security of its staff and students with kid’s gloves. This is evident in the prevailing peace and tranquility on our campus and in the host community.

“One of the students that the report claimed died mysteriously was Linda Lillian Lawal, a 400 Level student of the Department of Mass Communication. She died in her parents’ quarters on Friday, October 14, 2016, of complications resulting from brain injury she sustained during a car accident about a year ago, outside of the university environment.

“Linda was to have undergone brain surgery, but for some reasons it could not be done, and she, several times, suffered convulsion, a repeat of which claimed her life on October 14.

“The report also claimed that ‘a sickle cell patient was left unattended to by the medical personnel because he could not produce his hospital card’. This is, indeed, far from the truth. The said student was brought chronically ill to the University Clinic on Sunday night, September 11, 2016.

“Even though he did not register with the clinic and was abandoned by his colleagues on getting to the health facility, it is against medical practice to abandon such a patient at that critical moment. So, our doctor and nurses tried all they could to save his life; but when his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), in a KWASU ambulance.

“He was not left alone in the ambulance, as the doctor on call was there to give him the best attention before getting to the hospital. Despite the fact that the UITH was on strike at that time, the Consultant Doctor in charge of the emergency section of the hospital was called by our medical officials and he came over to save the situation that night. However, in spite of all efforts by doctors, we eventually lost the boy.

“Can such death be called ‘mysterious’ as insinuated by the report, particularly for a sickle cell patient? Suleiman said further: “Again, the provost of the Skyboss Security Services, a private security company engaged by the university, recently had an incident in the line of duty. He was rushed to the school clinic and our medical personnel referred him to the State Specialist Hospital, Alagbado, after trying their best to save his life.

“He was conveyed to the Special Hospital in our well-equipped ambulance supported by the medical personnel. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Can this also be called ‘mysterious’, bearing in mind that death can come at anytime and under any circumstance?”

“As a matter of fact, the two were the only deaths recorded after referral by the University Health Services this year, and out of campus environment. We believe such incidents are not peculiar to our institution, as we strive to maintain international best practices in our day-to-day activities.”

He cited the death of a female student in an auto accident on her way from Kano to Kaduna, outside the university’s area of jurisdiction, which the said report also described as ‘mysterious’.

“We view this claim as a height of professional gaffe and lack of clear understanding of how a fast-growing university such as ours operates.

He assured parents and guardians of the university’s total commitment to the welfare, safety and security of their children and wards; adding that the institution’s management would stop at nothing to protect them and give them the best education to become great citizens of Nigeria.