UNILAG medical students seek more security

Students of the University of Lagos have urged the government and the varsity’s management to beef up security at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, which shares premises with the varsity’s College of Medicine.

They made the call during a march they held at the weekend to protest the death of a fresh graduate of the college, Dr Stephen Urueye, who was attacked by hoodlums in front of LUTH gate, a day after his graduation. He did not survive the injuries. Over 800 students took part in the procession.

The late Urueye, a graduate of Medicine, had taken part in the institution’s 51st Convocation last Wednesday and by Thursday, he was dead.

CAMPUSLIFE learnt that Urueye was robbed and stabbed between 9pm and 9:45pm around Canal/Sickle Cell Foundation, close to the LUTH main gate.

Angered by his death, about 800 of his colleagues held a candlelight procession for him last weekend.

The protesters, led by his former course mates, who belonged to a group known as Syncytium ’17 marched from LUTH, through Surulere to the Baale’s palace. They then cut through Ojuelegba to Area C Command Police Station chanting #JusticeforStephen as they progressed.

A protester, described the mashing as a peaceful march and a fallout from the Twitter campaign against the brazen killing of their colleague.

At the Area C Police Command, an officer urged the students to take their complaint to the Area D Police Command under which jurisdiction the incident occured. The matter was eventually reported there.

How he was attacked

A close friend of the late Urueye, popularly known as Sembels, relived the deceased’s ordeal in the hands of his assailants. He also spoke of the interventions to save Urueye’s life.

Sembels, who was in LUTH that fateful day, said the late Urueye was attacked by hoodlums in front of the Sickle Cell Foundation.

Sembels said: “They shouted at him: ‘Bring your phone!’ ‘Bring your phone!!’ But, he was not with his phones.

“Suddenly, one of them stabbed him on his right thigh near the hips; another one stabbed him from behind at his lumbar region.

“He fell and bled profusely. He got up and ran towards LUTH gate, and fell again, this time into the flood in front of the hospital gate.

“Unfortunately, it rained on that day and the level of the flood had increased. Stephen struggled to stand, but he fell again.

“As Stephen was still battling for his dear life, some of the security men at the LUTH gate allegedly looked the other way, taking him for drunk.

An eyewitness, who does not want to be named, said: “The security men at the gate did not take him serious.They thought he was drunk. They ignored him.”

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Urueye was robbed alongside his friend whose phones were also collected. His friend, who reportedly escaped unhurt, later ran back to where he lay almost breathless.

Bleeding profusely, the late Urueye was taken to LUTH Accident and Emergency Unit, where he was given some pints of blood.

His colleagues said he lost so much blood and sustained various cuts, adding that doctors immediately stitched his femoral artery.

“After conducting that session, Stephen went into a coma. He was resuscitated and admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He suffered two cardiac arrests and died in the early hours of Friday, after the second cardiac arrest,’’ one of his colleagues told our correspondent.

It was gathered that the hoodlums also invaded the medical hostel and robbed some students of their valuables.

Urueye’s death has again brought to the fore, the safety of medical students at LUTH and its environs.

The students have repeatedly lamented the insecurity at Itire, describing the Idi-Araba axis as unsafe.

Although the late Urueye was the first to die from such attacks, past survivors recall their ordeal.

According to them, such incidents are rampant. They noted that they were lucky to have escaped.

“This is the hideout of hoodlums,” said another student who pleaded anonymity.

“They lurk around by the street lights and blockage of the narrow paths. It could have been anyone and we do not want a reoccurrence.”

Previous attacks

In March 2015, hoodlums attacked students in the LUTH Workers Mosque, a stone throw from the LUTH main gate.

A victim, who identified himself as Semiu, narrated his ordeal: “We were reading in preparation for the exam at the workers’ mosque in LUTH, some of us were awake while others were asleep.

“It was in the middle of the night. I was deeply asleep. All of a sudden, I heard disturbing sound of people panicking. As I attempted to stand up, one of the criminals with a knife, attempted to stab me. Luckily, I stood up and ran away with others.

‘’Then, I remembered that I was charging a Samsung Galaxy tab at the mosque. I returned to the scene, only to discover that they had left with some of our items.

“Although we made attempts to ambush them, annoyingly they ran through the police office close to the LUTH Idi-Araba gate,” he said.

“Immediately, some of us went to the security checkpoint at the LUTH gate to inform the security personnel. They slapped one of us and ordered him to kneel down. But, we quickly intervened, informing them that the person being asked to kneel down was indeed a victim. It was on hearing this that they released him.

“Disturbed by this incident, we locked the LUTH gates the following day. Some senior officers in the hospital pleaded with us to stop the protest. We actually suspended the demonstration on the condition that our stolen items would be replaced. They promised but never fulfilled it.”

To stop the incessants attacks, the students are asking the police command to set up a Rapid Response Squad in the area, especially around the canal.

Another female student, who did not want her name mentioned, praised UNILAG management for deploying Close Circuit Camera (CCTC) in its Akoka campus, urging it to extend the gesture to the Idi-Araba campus, especially the Canal/Sickle Cell Foundation area.