OOU Students Blame Clinic, Gate Security Checks for Student’s Death

Students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, have raised concerns over the institution’s healthcare services and campus transportation procedures following the death of a 200-level Business Administration student identified only as AJ.

The student reportedly died on Tuesday after falling from a moving campus shuttle bus, an incident that has triggered outrage among students and alumni, with calls for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Some students alleged that the university’s stop-and-search exercise at its main gate contributed to the incident. They claimed that students are often required to disembark from shuttle buses for security checks, causing delays that sometimes leave them scrambling to board departing vehicles.

According to the students, AJ may have lost his seat after the security exercise and resorted to hanging by the door of a moving shuttle bus. However, the circumstances leading to his fall have not been independently established.

Students also accused the university’s health centre of failing to provide immediate medical attention after the incident. They alleged that medical personnel requested the victim’s identification card before attending to him, raising questions about the facility’s emergency response procedures.

Several students and alumni took to social media to share accounts of what they described as poor treatment at the university clinic. Some alleged that they had previously been asked to provide medical identification or demonstrate that they had completed registration requirements before receiving treatment, including after accidents and during medical emergencies.

The Students’ Union also raised the allegation in a statement issued on Tuesday, claiming that the health centre demanded the student’s identification card before treatment could be administered.

The union described the circumstances surrounding the incident as disturbing and called for attention to the conduct of the shuttle driver, the safety of campus transportation and the response of the university’s healthcare facility.

The university’s stop-and-search procedure at the main gate also came under criticism, with students arguing that the exercise creates unnecessary delays and could expose commuters to additional risks when trying to catch departing buses. Some called on the management to review how security checks are conducted without compromising student safety.

The controversy comes amid broader concerns raised by students about campus welfare and transportation safety. One social media user also claimed that the institution had lost two students to vehicle-related accidents within 24 hours, although the circumstances of the other reported incident were not detailed in the supplied report.

Following AJ’s death, the university management announced the suspension of lectures and other academic activities for two days.

In a statement signed by Wale Balogun on behalf of the Deputy Registrar, Corporate Affairs Division, the institution said Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayodeji Agboola, had expressed condolences to the deceased student’s family, friends, coursemates and lecturers.

Efforts to obtain the university’s response to the allegations were unsuccessful as calls to its public relations officer were not answered. A WhatsApp message sent to him had also not received a response at the time of filing the report.