Four people, comprising two men and two women, have been confirmed dead following a party at a student apartment in Nsukka, the host community of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The incident reportedly occurred at End in Praise Lodge in the Hilltop area after a house party held on Tuesday night, following the final examinations of final-year pharmacy students.
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The president of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students (PANS), UNN chapter, Onah Olisaemeka, and its secretary, Obasi Chibuike, confirmed the deaths in a statement on Thursday.
However, they dismissed reports that the deceased were pharmacy students.
According to the student leaders, they visited Faith Foundation Hospital, where the bodies had been deposited, to establish the identities of the victims but could not recognise any of them as members of the pharmacy student community.
“I personally visited Faith Foundation Hospital, where the bodies of four deceased persons (two boys and two girls) from the incident were deposited at the mortuary,” the statement said.
“I also personally viewed the deceased, and I can confirm that I did not recognise any of them as a pharmacy student.”
The association said further enquiries indicated that two of the deceased were familiar faces on social media, known for street vlogging and dance content under the names Rymez and Golden, respectively.
The student leaders urged members of the university community to avoid spreading unverified reports and speculation while efforts to establish the identities of the victims continued.
They also expressed sympathy with the families and others affected by the incident.
Uzoma Maduakonam, editor-in-chief of the association, separately confirmed the deaths in an interview with TheCable.
She said the incident happened after a house party organised at a hostel following the final-year pharmacy students’ examinations on Tuesday.
She explained that those affected were rushed to hospital but none survived.
Maduakonam also reiterated that the association’s president and other students who visited the hospital could not identify any of the deceased as their pharmacy colleagues.
Meanwhile, a WhatsApp message purportedly written by a colleague of one of the victims has circulated online, alleging that the deaths followed the consumption of hard drugs mixed with alcohol at the gathering.
The unidentified writer claimed that some party attendees began collapsing around midnight after consuming the substances.
The message rejected suggestions that the victims had been poisoned, instead attributing the incident to an alleged combination of drugs and alcohol.
It further claimed that a neighbour later raised the alarm after receiving no response from the apartment’s occupants, prompting people to force the door open, where they reportedly discovered the bodies.
The message also alleged that one female attendee survived and was receiving medical attention after tests reportedly indicated a drug overdose.
However, the claims in the circulating message have not been independently verified, and no official investigation findings or toxicology results have been made public in the report.
As of the time of filing, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
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The circumstances surrounding the deaths, including the identities of all the victims and the exact cause, therefore remain unclear.
Mariam Balogun is a contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
