A 300-level student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Oluwapelumi Joseph Olona has committed suicide.
The student of the Department of Industrial Design hung himself with the aid of buckets in his room in an off-campus lodge in the Aule area of Akure metropolis.
His body was found in the early hours of Saturday, January 21, 2023, when his close friends forced his room door open.
Sources revealed that his friends became apprehensive when he did not pick his phone calls, coupled with the fact that he didn’t open his door after several knocks.
“Upon gaining entry, his body was discovered hanging with the buckets used to aid his legs.” the source said.
While the cause of his action was yet to be ascertained, students within the neighbourhood where he lived said it might not be unconnected with depression and financial constraints, which he battled with.
Popularly referred to as “Black” among his circle, some of his hall mates described the deceased as a jovial student who never entered into arguments or fought with anyone.
The president of the institution’s students’ union, FUTASU, Jesunifemi Asoore, confirmed the incident in a statement.
“I know we are all saddened by his death, and we’re sending our condolences to his family and friends. Death can be difficult for us to understand, especially when it is sudden. Many of us may be confronted with a variety of emotions, which might include shock, sadness and confusion. We want to assure you that we, the Students Union Government, care about you and the feelings that you may be experiencing.” he said.
Spokesperson of the State Police Command,Funmi Odunlami, also confirmed the death in a statement on Saturday January 21.
“His body had been taken to the morgue, and investigation has started to unravel the reasons behind his action, but it was a case of suicide.” the PPRO said.
300-level FUTA student killed himself over alleged fraud and family disagreements sources reveal.
Fresh facts have emerged as to why the 300-level student of the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA, Olona Oluwapelumi, committed suicide at his residence in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The deceased, who was in the Department of Industrial Design at the university, hung himself in his room.
Vanguard reports that a friend of the deceased, Omoniyi Enoch, who spoke with the Union of Campus Journalists of FUTA, on its Facebook page, said the late Olona was suspected to have committed suicide following an issue of money he had with his department.
Enoch said Late Olona was the Financial Secretary of his department until his death.
“When school resumed for the 2021/2022 session, the Treasurer of the department wasn’t around to receive payment for due. Joseph (Olona) decided to receive the payments from students.
The President requested that Joseph should send N100,000 to him for a departmental project. Joseph sent it using his digital bank – Carbon. He was debited but the President didn’t receive the payment.
Several emails were sent to the bank but the issue wasn’t resolved. Due to that, he was so pressured about it and everyone secluded him. He hasn’t attended lectures since we got back from the Christmas break because of the pressure.
Yesterday morning, I went to get my phone from Joseph because his phone is faulty and we both shared my phone. He informed me that his HOD called his daddy and said he engaged in fraud. He was very disturbed about it.
He requested to follow me to my office at the Students’ Union Building because he didn’t want to stay alone. I left him at the office to attend the homecoming event that was held at the T.I Francis auditorium and also watched the Awopegba match.
When I got back to the office, he had already locked the office door. He came back to give me the keys and left. When I got home, I forced him to eat. At 7:40 pm, knocked on his door but he didn’t open. I left thinking he was still angry with me for leaving him at the office.
At 8:30 pm, I knocked again but there was no response. At 10:01 pm, I tried again but there was no response, so I went to sleep. This morning, I went to knock around 8 am but there was no response. I had to go and check through his window and I saw him hanging from the ceiling” Enoch was quoted as saying
Another source who spoke to Vanguard said Late Olona was an olnly son and last born of his parents and had some unresolved issues with his parents over his performance in his studies in his first year.
”The boy did not go home throughout the period of ASUU strike because of the problems he had with his parents over his unimpressive result at 100 level.”
