Students accuse FUNAAB’s medical staff over female colleague’s death

Academic activities were disrupted on Monday on the campus of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, as hundreds of students of the institution protested the death of their colleague, Maria Atere.

The students, who were led by the Chairman of National Association of Nigerian Students in Ogun State,  Dotun Opaleye, blocked the entrance of the school, as early as 6am.
During the protest, which lasted for about two hours, the students accused the medical personnel of the institution of negligence, which according to them, led to the death of the student.
Our correspondent gathered that Maria, a 400-Level student of Plant Physiology and Crop Production, lost her life on Sunday while she was heading for the campus on a commercial motorcycle, popularly known as okada.
It was learnt that the motorcycle had a head-on collision with a car some metres away from the premises of Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority, Alabata in Odeda Local Government area of the state.
Opaleye, while addressing journalists shortly after the protest at Iwe Iroyin, Oke Ilewo area of Abeokuta, said the accident occurred around 7pm.
He said the girl would have been saved if the medical personnel had released the ambulance to convey the injured student to the Federal Medical Centre,  Idi-Aba,  Abeokuta.
Opaleye added that the late Atere had a fracture on her skull and was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital while some students went to the school to request for ambulance to convey her to FMC.
He alleged that the request was turned down.
He added, “The President of Students Union Government of the institution, Segun Dennis, went to the health centre, located in the school premises, to request for the ambulance but, he was denied. They told him to bring the girl to the school clinic.
“The lady was bleeding seriously and for two hours, the medical personnel did not release the ambulance and later we got a referral, and we had to take her to the FMC with the union bus.
“On getting to the hospital,  the doctor told us that she had died and we became devastated. That was the reason we embarked on the protest.”