A 27- year old student of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), who failed in his final year project the last session and was made to repeat the current one, has reportedly killed himself.

The deceased, identified as Adigun, Olawale Emmanuel, from the Faculty of Agriculture, was believed to have died after he drank a pesticide, Sniper. Sources at the university claimed he had a grade of Second Class Upper Division but that with the failed project he would necessarily have to drop to Second Class Lower Division.

In a social media note left behind, the deceased indicated that he had been accused of ‘copy and paste’, a reference to plagiarism in research works. Some neighbors claimed the deceased had been subject to depression since he failed to make the last graduation list of the institution.

The incident happened on Thursday night at Oke-Odo, a student-populated area in Ilorin, Kwara state, but the corpse was only discovered on Saturday after neighbors noticed a foul smell oozing out of his room. When the door was broken, his bloated body was found on the floor.

Checks indicated that the deceased had communicated his intention to end his life to a female friend who however pleaded with him to have a rethink and face the challenge like most other men in life. According to available records from his social media interactions, the deceased had uploaded a picture of the Sniper on his WhatsApp page at about 5.14 pm, some two hours after he had lamented online about his situation to his friend.

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He had opened the conversation at about 3.39 pm when he said in short statements: ‘same research work. He said I did copy and paste. Ever since den, things changed from bad to worst. Am in a deep mess @the moment. My life don tire me. I feel like dying. I wish I can sleep and wake not wake up again”.

His friend, however, responded with words of encouragement, “Don’t give up bros, it gets better”. And as if he had accepted the admonition, the deceased had then responded, “I pray xo, Thanks a lot for ur concern. I appreciate a lot. May God continue to bless you. Amen.”

However, by the time he uploaded the Sniper picture, his friend apparently became frantic and pleaded with him not to take any wrong step. The friend said: “Wale Abeg, Calm Down. Abeg You In the Name of God. Nothing Happen wey God no know about ooo please don’t do anything stupid ooooo”.

When contacted, spokesman for the university, Alhaji Kunle Akogun, said he was yet to be briefed about the incident. Similarly, spokesman for the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said his office was also yet to be briefed but promised to get in touch with the appropriate quarters on the development.

In another development, another final year student of the school, Alada Babatunde, who was expelled for alleged examination malpractice has appealed to the management of the institution for “compassionate consideration” after the “regrettable mistake” that led to his expulsion.

Babatunde, from the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology, was reportedly expelled for alleged examination misconduct. According to online reports, Babatunde was accused by the university’s Students’ Disciplinary Committee (SDC) of being caught with a Blackberry phone containing materials relevant to the examination written on July 24 during the 2016/2017 academic session.

According to SaharaReporters, the letter of expulsion signed by the Registrar, Modupe Olowoleni, indicated that Babatunde was expelled after the SDC found him guilty of examinations misconduct.

He has however denied the allegations, stating that he wasn’t involved in examination malpractice. In the letter written to the SDC, he argued that the said phone was neither caught with him nor was he caught using the phone in the exam hall.

The letter read: “It is worthy to note that the phone was switched off while charging and kept in a place very far from my reach (at the window side, to avoid it being stolen) when the invigilator saw it and took it, while the exam was ongoing.

“As I look forward to your compassionate consideration on the regrettable mistake of keeping the switched off phone close to the examination hall, I also tender my apology that it was not intended for any form of examination malpractice or misconduct.”

He lamented not being given a fair hearing, noting that there was no proper proceeding during his appearance at the panel and that the invigilator who was said to have caught him was not called to testify against him during the disciplinary committee sittings.

“Neither was my phone or alleged materials viewed in my presence to guarantee fair hearing, despite the demand of the chairperson of the SDC, Professor N.Y.S. Ijaiya to see the invigilator, to ensure a fair hearing and a just conclusion,” he added.

NewTelegraph