A Nigerian Law School student, Ayomiposi Ojajuni, has reportedly died by suicide after he was allegedly barred from writing the Bar Final Examinations at the institution’s Yola campus in Adamawa State.
We learnt from students familiar with the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, that the incident occurred on Saturday.
Ojajuni, a graduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, was said to have received a series of queries from the school authorities before discovering that he had been disqualified from participating in the professional examinations which commenced the same day.
A student who spoke to NAN on Sunday said the deceased became distressed after learning he would not be allowed to sit the exams.
Another student disclosed that Ojajuni allegedly consumed a poisonous substance on Saturday and died on Sunday at the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Adamawa Police Command, Yahaya Suleiman, said he could not comment on issues relating to official examination processes, adding that he also learnt of the incident from media reports.
An online platform, FactCheckNews, reported that the deceased was barred for failing to meet the mandatory 75 per cent attendance required to qualify for the examinations.
According to the report, the school recently changed its practice of releasing lists of qualified candidates two weeks before examinations, opting instead to publish the names shortly before the exercise commenced, leaving no room for students to regularise genuine attendance issues.
The platform stated that Ojajuni allegedly consumed a substance suspected to be rat poison after discovering his name was not on the list.
However, Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Suleiman Nguroje, said the command had not received any official report on the incident.
“We don’t have such a report yet. I have contacted the DPO in the area and he said there is no record of the incident. I also tried reaching the law school but could not get through,” he said.
He added that the command would provide further information upon confirmation.
If we recalls that in 2024, a 24-year-old mass communication student of the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Jemima Shetima-Balami, also allegedly died by suicide in the state after her boyfriend ended their relationship.