There was widespread outrage at the University of Osun on Friday following the death of Grace Osunlakin, a 400-level student, amid allegations of inadequate healthcare facilities at the institution’s Ifetedo campus.
Students staged a protest, expressing anger over the loss of their colleague, insisting she might have survived if proper medical attention had been available.
In a protest video, one student accused the university management of failing to provide functional healthcare services despite collecting medical-related fees from students.
“You claimed you built a hostel and clinic for us, but none of them is functioning. There are no nurses or doctors. We paid school fees and everything, but you’re just extorting us. Let us go if you can’t take care of us,” the student said.
According to students, Osunlakin, a student of criminology and security studies, suffered a medical emergency and collapsed on Wednesday.
In another viral video, Oguntola Helen, welfare director of the students’ union, alleged that the deceased urgently needed oxygen but could not access it at the campus health facility.
“She just finished her exam on Monday, but she died on June 24. She had an attack and fainted. All she needed was oxygen, but the school medical facility didn’t have it,” Helen said.
“We lost Grace just because there was no oxygen to stabilise her.”
“These are the drugs. This is all we have to cater for over 2,000 students. We have no oxygen, we have no medical facility.
“I had ordinary cramps. I had to go outside the school to get a drug. We lost Grace because there was no oxygen to stabilise her. This is not just fair.”
The president of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Akinteye Azeez, also condemned what he described as negligence and poor healthcare delivery at the institution.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Azeez sympathised with the deceased’s family, friends and colleagues.
“It is deeply painful that we lost one of our own to the cold hands of death due to the incompetence and negligence of those who ought to have provided the immediate medical attention necessary to keep her alive,” he said.
He argued that Osunlakin’s death highlighted serious deficiencies in the university’s healthcare system, noting that students pay fees that include healthcare services.
“Students pay substantial fees to attend school, and embedded within these fees are charges for healthcare services. It is therefore only reasonable that students should have access to functional and adequately equipped medical facilities whenever the need arises,” he said.
“Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a fundamental necessity and one of the most critical services any educational institution owes its students.”
Azeez called on the university to investigate the incident, engage the family, and urgently improve healthcare services across its campuses. He also urged the temporary closure of the Ifetedo campus until adequate healthcare facilities, equipment, medication and emergency systems are put in place.
The university, however, rejected claims that Osunlakin was denied treatment at its medical centre.
In a statement, Ademola Adesoji, the institution’s spokesperson, said the student was never taken to the university health facility on the day she died.
According to him, Osunlakin had completed her project defence and interacted with her supervisor and colleagues before returning to her off-campus residence.
“Following the defence, she reportedly interacted with her project supervisor and fellow students before returning to her off-campus residence, a privately rented apartment,” he said.
“She showed no visible signs of illness while on campus that day.”
Adesoji added that Osunlakin had been identified as an asthma patient since her 100-level, with her condition documented in the health centre’s records.
He said accounts from her housemate, Durosinmi Mariam, showed she returned from a Christian fellowship later that evening and complained of stomach pain.
“She subsequently went to the toilet, where she reportedly screamed, drawing the attention of her housemate,” Adesoji said.
The university said Mariam helped Osunlakin back to her room before attempts were made to take her to a medical facility as her condition worsened.
Adesoji explained that transportation became difficult because of an unannounced Oro ritual in Ifetedo, which restricted movement at night.
Despite the challenge, she was eventually transported on a motorcycle to the Community Health Centre in Ikija, Ifetedo.
“She was not taken to the University Health Centre at any point on the night of the incident,” Adesoji said.
He added that Osunlakin had already lost consciousness before arriving at the health centre and was immediately placed on a stretcher.
The spokesperson further said her project supervisor, Oyeyipo Eyitayo, and the acting head of the department of peace and conflict studies, Olawale Gbadeyan, were informed and rushed to the facility.
“Both lecturers immediately proceeded to the Community Health Centre, where the matron on duty confirmed her passing in the presence of her friends,” he said.
Adesoji added that the lecturers later took Osunlakin to a specialist hospital in Ondo for further confirmation.
“On arrival at about 12:10 a.m., the medical doctor on duty reportedly carried out preliminary checks and confirmed that she was dead on arrival,” he said.
The institution maintained that university officials remained actively involved throughout the process and reiterated that Osunlakin was never brought to the university medical centre before her death.