FOUR DIE AFTER ALLEGED DRUG, ALCOHOL MIX AT UNN HOUSE PARTY

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By: Hammad Fasasi

Four suspected students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have been confirmed dead following a party at their apartment in End in Praise Lodge, Hilltop area of Nsukka, the university’s host community.

The incident was confirmed on Thursday by the President of the UNN chapter of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS), Onah Olisaemeka, and the association’s Secretary, Obasi Chibuike.

However, the student leaders clarified that the deceased were not pharmacy students, contrary to reports circulating about the incident.

In a statement, the association’s leaders said they visited the hospital where the bodies were deposited to establish the identities of the victims but were unable to recognise any of them.

The statement read, “I personally visited Faith Foundation Hospital, where the bodies of four deceased persons (two boys and two girls) from the incident were deposited at the mortuary.

“I also personally viewed the deceased, and I can confirm that I did not recognise any of them as a pharmacy student.”

The student leaders added that further investigations revealed that two of the deceased were popular UNN social media personalities known for street vlogging and dance content, respectively. They were identified by their online names as Rymez and Golden.

They urged members of the university community to avoid spreading unverified information and speculation, noting that efforts were ongoing to establish the identities of the victims.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this unfortunate incident,” the statement added.

Also confirming the incident in an interview with TheCable, the association’s Editor-in-Chief, Uzoma Maduakonam, said the deaths occurred after a house party held following the final-year pharmacy students’ final examinations on Tuesday.

She explained that those affected were rushed to the hospital but none survived.

“It was after a house party held at the hostel. And the students were immediately rushed to the hospital. But none of them survived it,” she said.

Maduakonam further reiterated that although final-year pharmacy students sat their final examinations on Tuesday, the association’s president and other classmates who visited the hospital could not identify any of the deceased as their colleagues.

Meanwhile, a WhatsApp message circulating online, purportedly written by a colleague of one of the deceased, attributed the deaths to an alleged mixture of hard drugs and alcohol consumed during the party.

The writer claimed that some attendees began collapsing around midnight on Tuesday after taking the substances.

The message read, “It was not poison that killed them; it was a mixture of hard drugs and alcohol.

“The house party was held on Tuesday night, and they started collapsing around midnight because the mixture was very strong.

“Then, a neighbour of the host went to knock on his door yesterday night, but nobody responded. They broke down the door and that was how they found dead bodies everywhere.”

The writer also claimed that one of the victims was receiving medical attention in a hospital, where tests allegedly showed evidence of a hard drug overdose.

However, the claims circulating in the WhatsApp message have not been independently verified.

As of the time of filing this report, the university management had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.