Amid the controversy 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 prior to the incident, stated that the exam paper for the course (English Statistics) showed that the late student had only copied down three questions.
He made this statement while responding to questions from journalists on Friday in Abakaliki, stressing that it was incorrect to attribute her death to academic issues.
It should be noted that a woman claiming to be the deceased student’s mother publicly blamed the lecturer for her daughter’s death.
Presenting his perspective, Prof. Enyi said, “I am Prof. A.U. Enyi of the Department of English and Literary Studies, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. It is quite unfortunate that the girl ended her life 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, who simply failed an exam, would decide to take her own life. The first question to ask in this circumstance is, was she victimized?
“Moreover, she was not the only person who took the exam; others may have failed as well. It is not true, and that was my initial reaction. How could she have decided to take her own life, assuming she did?
“How could she have decided to take her own life when she was not victimized in the exam?”
He continued, “I became aware of this student in February 2024 after we had uploaded our second-semester results. The results had already been approved by the school because before we upload results for student access, the school management must approve them.
“The mother called me one night, accusing me of witch-hunting her daughter and questioning how her daughter could pass all other courses but fail mine.
When I tried to explain the procedure for addressing such concerns, she refused to listen, leaving me no choice but to end the call.
“I did not pursue the matter further because the university has a process for handling such issues. According to university rules, the examination does not belong to the lecturer. We submitted the results, student scripts, questions, and the marking scheme, all of which are university property and verifiable.
“If anyone feels wronged, there is a process for reviewing the papers. Threatening my life and claiming that she is from Nsukka and will deal with me is not the appropriate way to handle the situation.”
