Amid the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Miss Favour Ugwuka, a final-year student of the Department of English at Ebonyi State University, the accused lecturer, Prof. Amechi Enyi, has firmly denied any involvement in her death.
Ugwuka reportedly committed suicide on Wednesday night, leading to allegations against Enyi by the deceased’s mother.
Speaking to journalists on Friday in Abakaliki, Prof. Enyi stated that the accusations against him were unfounded and that Ugwuka’s death was not related to any academic issues.
He revealed that Ugwuka had only copied down three questions during her final examination in English Statistics, suggesting that academic pressure was not the cause of her suicide.
“It is unfortunate, it is quite unfortunate that the girl ended the way she did.
I was shocked when I heard the news,” Enyi said.
“It is not true that her death is related to an academic issue.
I don’t see how somebody who was not victimized, someone who failed an exam, would decide to take her own life.”
Prof. Enyi expressed his disbelief at the situation, questioning the rationale behind Ugwuka’s decision if she indeed took her own life.
“How could she have decided to take her own life when she was not victimized in the exam?” he asked.
The lecturer recounted his first encounter with Ugwuka’s mother in February 2024, after the second-semester results had been uploaded and approved by the university.
He described how Ugwuka’s mother accused him of witch-hunting her daughter.
“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 an accusation, she refused to listen then I had no choice but to disconnect the call,” Enyi explained.
Prof. Enyi emphasized that the university has established procedures for handling grievances related to examination results.
“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,” he noted.
He also highlighted that threats from Ugwuka’s mother were uncalled for and unnecessary.
“If anyone feels aggrieved, the process of recalling the papers is there.
And what such an aggrieved person needs to do is not threaten my life, telling me that she is from Nsukka and that I will be dealt with,” he added.
