UNIZIK students protest colleague's death who slumped while playing basketball

The protesting students blamed the university medical personnel for the death of the students saying the medical centre did not do enough to save Francis’ life when he was taken there.

However, the Director of Information of the university, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, said the deceased was taken to the medical centre without a pulse.

He said the Francis was taken to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Amaku where he was confirmed dead.

One of the students who rushed Francis to the university clinic said when Francis was rushed to the medical centre, there was no doctor to attend to him.

He added that the medical personnel that could have attended to the deceased asked them to be praying for him instead of treating him immediately.

The anonymous student who witnessed the incident narrated the perceived nonchalance of the medical personnel in a WhatsApp broadcast.

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The Whatsapp message reads in part:

''I feel bitter, what a nonsense of Nnamdi Azikiwe University clinic in Awka. A final year student, a course mate, just to share memories together was rushed to the nonsense, rubbish clinic on an emergency, on getting to the hospital no single doctor was there to attend to him, the nurses looking like cleaners couldn't even attend to him, Francis was right before us dying.

''Professionals in the medical field told us to pray without them playing their own part, I was gutted. Although we were praying heavily, we tried to rush Francis to another hospital a doctor rushed in stupidly asking the hospital she is working in if they had oxygen and BP apparatus, the nurses said no, Francis was going far out of this world right before us, that was when it occurred to them that Francis would be rushed to the hospital, I was inside the ambulance holding Francis' foot, it was damn cold, his eyes were already open. I was scared, I knew only miracle could happen because Francis had no impulse.''

UNIZIK issues a statement

However, in a press statement made available to journalists, the university management insisted Francis had died before he was brought to the university’s clinic.

The statement read:

The Management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka has received with great shock the painful and sudden demise of one of our students, Francis Chinedu Mmadubuobi, a 400 level student of the Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing.

“The deceased slumped while playing basketball with his friends on Saturday, July 21, 2018.

“The deceased was quickly rushed to the University Medical Centre but had no pulse upon examination. This means that he had died before being brought to the University Medical Centre.”