From Magnus Eze, Enugu
A Professor of English Grammar at the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Amaechi Uneke Enyi, has denied victimising a student of the institution that allegedly committed suicide within the week.
Enyi had been accused in a viral video in social media by a lady who claimed to be mother of one Favour Ugwu, that her daughter took her life because the lecturer reportedly failed her in his course. In the video, the woman was cursing out “Dr. Enyi” and Ebonyi State University for being responsible for her daughter’s death.
“Dr Enyi said he is the best, nobody can teach like him, he should come and carry my daughter who has committed suicide,” she was seen shouting in the video.
But the don said that the death of the student was in no way connected to the course he teaches in the university or his person.
He told Daily Sun that he is aggrieved for being wrongly accused by the woman in the viral video.
He said: “It is unfortunate, it is quite unfortunate that the girl ended the way she ended. I was really shocked when I heard the news.
“It is not true that her death is related to academic issue, I don’t see how somebody who was not victimized, someone who failed an exam will decide to take her own life. So, the first question one should ask in this circumstance should be, was she victimized?
“Yes, I got to really know about this student in February, 2024 after we had uploaded our second semester results. And the results were already approved by the school because before we upload results so that students could have access to the result, the school management would have approved the results.
“So the mother called me one night, she said that I was witch-hunting her daughter, that how could her daughter have passed all other courses only to fail my course?
“And when I tried to explain to her the procedure of ascertaining such accusation, she refused listening then I had no choice than to disconnect the call.
“And I didn’t dwell further on it because the university has a process for handling such matters. According to the university rules, the examination does not belong to the lecturer, we had submitted the results, the student scripts, the questions and the marking scheme, so all these are the property of the university and they are all verifiable.
“So, if anyone feels aggrieved, the process of recalling the papers is there. And what such an aggrieved person needs to do is not to threaten my life, telling me that she is from Nsukka and that I will be dealt with.
“I tried telling the mother that she can write a petition against me, she can investigate and then the right process will be followed, a panel could be set up to investigate the allegations and accusations, but she did not listen.”
However, she eventually came to the school, met with the Head of Department who explained to her that her daughter was not victimised.
The HOD asked that her daughter re-registers the course in the second semester, promising that efforts would be made to ensure she passed the course.
Enyi said that the woman also visited the department and apologised to him over the manner she had taken the issue.
“However, she eventually did come to the university as she had threatened, but I did not even know that she came. I learnt that she was also advised to formally approach the department and the school management. Even the Head of the Department (HOD) who incidentally is also a woman too decided to informally assist her and look into the matter, and the HOD, retrieved her daughter’s script and it was discovered that the late student merely copied a few questions and never answered any of the questions.
“At that point, the HOD advised the mother to tell her daughter to re-register the course during the second semester, because the course is a second semester course and that after she (the student) may have registered the course, the department could then approach the lecturer to explore ways the student could be assisted to pass the course. And that was what the HOD advised the mother and that was the last time the HOD heard of the matter, because we are currently writing our first semester examinations so we have not even started the second semester when the deceased student was expected to re-register the course.
On the allegation that the student committed suicide, the lecturer urged that the suicide narrative should be properly investigated by students, security operatives and journalists.
“I call on the security people and you journalists to investigate deeper what may have led to her death. There are students who live with her where she lived and they would know her activities and what she had been doing in Abakaliki.
“It is obvious that the woman is bent on destroying me,” Enyi said.