Irate OSPOLY Students Set Clinic Equipment Ablaze Over Colleague’s Death, As Management Shuts Down School

Some angry students of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree have burnt some equipment in their school clinic over the death of their colleague on Friday evening.

The protesting students who stormed the school’s health centre on Saturday morning set fire on the school ambulance and other equipment in the clinic.

They alleged that medical personnel had left the clinic as at the time a Higher National Diploma I student, Aminu Sheu Hammed was brought in after slumping in the examination hall.

Sheu had slumped immediately after writing his second semester examination and died hours later at a hospital outside the school campus.

Sheu, a student of the Department of Applied Chemistry was said to have been observing the ongoing Ramadan fast before he suddenly lost balance after submitting his paper to invigilators at the PLT examination hall.

According to the polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tope Abiola, Sheu was said to have been rushed to the school’s clinic at about 4:30pm where medical personnel on duty made frantic efforts to resuscitate him but to no avail.

Abiola told our correspondent on the telephone that Sheu was immediately referred to another hospital in the polytechnic town in order to get more hands from other medical personnel.

Unfortunately, Sheu gave up the ghost few minutes later at Ogo Oluwa hospital where he was taken to in the school ambulance.

Abiola said that the deceased was observing the Ramadan fasting and that he might have slumped due to loss of strength.

The Public Relations Officer said Sheu had been buried on Friday evening in his hometown, Oba’agun.

He therefore condoled the deceased’s family and prayed that God will comfort them.

“It’s very shocking to us that the institution would lose such a precious soul. He slumped shortly after writing his examination in the hall and he was immediately rushed to the school’s clinic.

” Our medical personnel were on duty and they made efforts to resuscitate him. He was later taken to another hospital in the school’s ambulance but we lost him in that hospital.

“He was a Muslim and he was observing the Ramadan fasting. He would have slumped due to loss of stamina. He was buried this (Friday) evening in his hometown, Oba’agun, community close to Iree.”

“We sympathise with his family and we pray to God to console them,” Abiola said.

But some students have blamed the school’s clinic for Sheu’s death. Some of them accused the medical personnel of negligence of duty alleging that some essential staff had closed for the day when Sheu was brought in around 4:30pm on Friday.

But Abiola denied this saying all the medical personnel were in ground and they gave their best to ensure that Sheu’s life was saved but unfortunately, he died.

On Saturday morning, the students had regrouped and stormed the school’s clinic and set equipment, some drugs and other items ablaze.

The students were chanting anti-management songs to protesting the death of Sheu.

They had wanted to set the whole health centre ablaze but for timely intervention of the school security agents who forestalled it.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone on Saturday, Sheu’s classmate, who simply identified herself as Blessing, said the deceased was not attended to when he was rushed to the centre.

She said Sheu was later rushed to another hospital, Ogo Oluwa hospital outside the campus where he died few minutes later.

To forestall severe breakdown of law and order on campus, the school management has ordered the immediate closure of the campus and asked students to vacate the premises.

A statement issued by Mr. Abiola on behalf of the school Registrar on Saturday reads, “this is to inform the general public that Osun State Polytechnic Iree has been closed down.

As a result of this, all students are to vacate the school premises with immediate effect.”