Following the untimely death of a final year student of Microbiology, Francis Madubuobi, who slumped while playing basketball at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UniZik) Awka, students took to the streets of Anambra state to protest the death of their colleague. The protesting students blame the university medical personnel for asking them to pray for a dying student instead of treating him.
The students blamed the university medical personnel for the death of the students saying that the school’s medical centre did not swing into action to save their colleague’s life when he was taken there.
But the director of information of the university, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, said the deceased was taken to the medical centre after giving up the ghost.
He said 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 and preferred to remain anonymous said when Francis was rushed to the medical centre, there was no doctor to attend to him, and that the medical personnel that should have attended to the deceased asked them to pray for him instead of treating him immediately.
‘’I feel bitter about the nonsense Nnamdi Azikiwe University clinic in Awka did. A final year student, a course mate of mine, whom we shared memories together, was rushed to our clinic on an emergency, on getting to the hospital no single doctor was there to attend to him, and the nurses, looking like cleaners, couldn’t even attend to him. Francis died right before us.
‘’Professionals in the medical field told us to pray without playing their own part, I was devastated. Although we were praying heavily, we tried to rush Francis to another hospital, when a doctor rushed in stupidly asking if they had oxygen and BP apparatus. The nurses said no. I was inside the ambulance holding Francis’ foot, it was damn cold, and his eyes were already open. I was scared, I knew only miracle could happen.’’
However, in a statement made available to journalists, the university management insisted Francis had died when he was brought to the university’s clinic.
“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. He 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 medical centre,” the statement reads.
