Tragedy struck the students of Lagos State University of Science and Technology on Saturday when a newly admitted colleague, Emmanuel Nweke, fell from a two-storey building in the Ikorodu area of the state.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred around 4:00 pm on the balcony of Nweke’s apartment at the Lasunwon First Gate, a predominantly student-populated area.
Grieving colleagues told PUNCH Metro on Monday that the 100-level mathematics student had stepped onto the first-floor balcony corridor to get some fresh air following a prolonged power outage.
Upon reaching the corridor, Nweke reportedly leaned on the balcony railing, lost balance, and fell from the distressed building, hitting his head on the ground.
Sources in the community told PUNCH Metro that the deceased, who hailed from Anambra State, passed away before his colleagues could rush him to the nearby general hospital for treatment.
While the entire building was shut down to prevent further incidents, our correspondent learnt that the landlord was immediately taken into custody by operatives of the Ikorodu Police Division on Sagamu Road, opposite Wema Bank, Ikorodu.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro in a telephone conversation on Monday, a student of the school and vice chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students Joint Campus Committee, Sadiq Adams Kiakia, accused the school of negligence for failing to provide accommodation, blaming the lack of housing and stable power supply for the death of the 100-level student.
Kiakia said, “Power supply in the area has been a major issue since the beginning of the year, with barely two hours of electricity available daily. The building is already deteriorating, and he tragically passed away before we could get him to the hospital.
“We urgently need proper accommodation within the school. If there was on-campus housing, Nweke wouldn’t have been staying in that building. Over 20 students lived there, and he (Nweke) had just paid his rent about two weeks ago. We need the school authorities to take immediate action.”
In an earlier statement, the Chairman of NANS JCC Lagos State, Comrade Abdul-Raheem Abdul-Quadri, and the Public Relations Officer, Comrade Ridwan Ajayi, criticised the school management and the state government for their negligence.
The union demanded justice for the deceased and condemned the school’s poor maintenance and lack of oversight in student accommodations, calling the incident a clear example of the ongoing crisis of inadequate and unsafe student housing around LASUSTECH and other tertiary institutions in Lagos State.
“It is deeply concerning that LASUSTECH and the Lagos State Government have failed to provide sufficient on-campus hostel accommodations, forcing students to resort to unsafe and overpriced off-campus options.
“This neglect reflects a severe failure of duty to ensure the welfare and safety of students, and it exacerbates the growing housing crisis within the university community.
“This tragedy is also a reflection of a larger systemic failure in student housing around tertiary institutions in Lagos State. With limited or zero affordable and safe on-campus accommodation, students are forced to rely on substandard and overpriced off-campus alternatives, many of which fail to meet basic safety standards,” the union lamented.
The students called for a comprehensive structural audit of all off-campus hostels around LASUSTECH to identify and shut down unsafe buildings, immediate action by the state government against landlords and hostel operators violating building regulations, and justice for Nweke, holding the hostel management accountable for the negligence that led to his death.
The students stated, “The Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Housing must establish and enforce a minimum safety standard for all student accommodations. Regular safety inspections of private hostels must be conducted to prevent future avoidable tragedies.
“The Lagos State Government and LASUSTECH must take immediate steps to provide affordable, safe, and purpose-built hostel accommodations on campus for students.
“Compensation and support for Emmanuel Nweke’s family: The hostel operators must take full responsibility for this incident, and legal action must be taken against all responsible parties.”
The union hoped that Nweke’s death would “mark a turning point in the fight for safe and affordable student housing.”
When contacted on Monday about the incident and lack of accommodation for LASUSTECH students, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs, at the state Ministry of Education, Mr. Mahmud Hassan, neither picked up his phone nor responded to the WhatsApp message sent to him.
Additionally, when our correspondent contacted the state police command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Monday, to inquire about the building owner’s arrest, his phone rang unanswered.
The university’s Dean of Student Affairs, Dr Ademola Aderogba, confirmed the incident to our correspondent, stating that the management was “on top of the situation.”
Regarding the lack of student accommodation, he explained that the issue was beyond the university’s control but assured that the government was already working on a solution.
“It was only three years ago that the state government began introducing hostels within the school premises.
The initiative has already started at Lagos State University, Ojo, through a Public-Private Partnership, with LASU being used as a model for other state-owned institutions. However, the project has yet to commence at our school,” Aderogba added.
