OAU, police investigate hostel owner over student’s death

The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has issued a query to the owner of BVER, a private hostel on the campus, where a female student died, TopNaija reports.

A 200-level student in the Department of Linguistics and African Languages of the university, Ajibola Ayomikun, who resided in the hostel, had reportedly fallen into a septic tank of the facility through an opening not properly covered.

Giving an update on the incident in a statement on Friday, the varsity’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olanrewaju, said the school management was awaiting the response of the hostel owner to the query.

The statement read in part, “The owner of the private hostel, BVER, where the incident occurred has been issued a query by the university management and his response is being awaited. It must be noted that all the hostels in the students’ village are privately owned and they are not under the control of the university. The university management presently has only oversight functions on these private hostels.”

Meanwhile, the university also said the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Osun State Police Command had taken over the investigation into the circumstances that led to the student’s death.

Obafemi Awolowo University has 13 faculties and two colleges — the Postgraduate College and the College of Health Sciences — administered in more than 60 departments.

The university offers undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in fields of specialization spanning the humanities, arts, natural sciences, social sciences, medical sciences, engineering and technology. It was previously associated with Loma Linda University in California, USA.