Amid the circumstances surrounding the death of Miss Favour Ugwuka, a final-year student in the Department of English at Ebonyi State University, who reportedly committed suicide on Wednesday night, the accused lecturer, Prof. Amechi Enyi, has denied any involvement in her death.
Enyi, who claimed he was repeatedly threatened by the deceased’s mother before the incident, noted that the question paper for the final exam of the course (English Statistics) showed that the late student had only copied down three questions.
He made this statement while answering questions from journalists on Friday in Abakaliki, emphasizing that it was incorrect to link her death to academic activities.
It should be recalled that a woman identifying herself as the deceased student’s mother blamed the lecturer for her daughter’s death in a viral video.
Giving his side of the story, the lecturer said, “I’m Prof. A.U. Enyi of the Department of English and Literary Studies, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. It is unfortunate, quite unfortunate that the girl ended the way she did. I was shocked when I heard the news.
“It is not true that her death is related to an academic issue. I don’t see how someone who was not victimized, someone who failed an exam, would decide to take her own life. So, the first question one should ask in this circumstance is, was she victimized?
“And of course, she was not the only person who took the exam; others may have failed as well. So, it is not true, and that was my first reaction. How could she have decided to take her own life, that is, if she did?
“How could she have decided to take her own life when she was not victimized in the exam?”
He added, “Yes, I got to know about this student in February 2024 after we had uploaded our second-semester results. The results were already approved by the school because before we upload results so that students can access them, the school management must approve them.
“So, the mother called me one night, accusing me of witch-hunting her daughter, asking how her daughter could pass all other courses only to fail mine.
When I tried to explain the procedure for addressing such accusations, she refused to listen, so I had no choice but to end the call.
“And I didn’t pursue it further because the university has a process for handling such matters. According to university rules, the examination does not belong to the lecturer. We had submitted the results, student scripts, questions, and the marking scheme, all of which are university property and verifiable.
“So, if anyone feels aggrieved, there is a process to recall the papers. Threatening my life and telling me that she is from Nsukka and that I will be dealt with is not the way to handle it.”
