By Correspondent in Lokoja.
The death of three students of the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, two females and one male,within the space of 72 hours sparked protest by many students of the institution at the Lokoja and the Felele campuses of the university on Friday.
Our Correspondent reports that the students barricaded the main gates of the two campuses of the university, chanting songs and preventing human and vehicular movement in and out of the institution.
The online publication also reports that the students were also sad over what they described as the poor health facility in the institution, especially at its new site located off Felele highway in Lokoja.
Sources close to the university told The Reporters that a final year female student from the Department of Geography, lost her life as she was knocked down at the Felele High way by a car whose driver disappeared into thin air.
The two other deceased, the source added, were down with an undisclosed ailment but could not survive their sickness.
Some of the students who spoke on the issue called on the management of the University to have well a equipped health facility to take effective care of their health.
According to them, perhaps the death of their sick colleagues could have been averted if the institution have adequately equipped health facility.
Some of the students described the Felele campus of the university as “death trap”, adding that it lacked health facility as well.
They said they could no longer accept a situation whereby the institution would want them to be receiving lectures and no effort made to give them healthcare services.
The students stressed the need for the university to supply the clinic with adequate drugs,to take care of various ailments afflicting some of their colleagues.
According to them, the not too encouraging attitude of some staff of the health unit to them was because there is no adequate drugs, adding that some of the staff also lack adequate knowledge in drug prescription, a developmnt they said posed danger to their health.
Efforts to get the Police Relations Officer(PPRO) for the Police Command in the state, DSP William Aya and the appropriate authority in the university, to comment on the issue proved abortive.
Several phone calls made to Aya rang but not responded to while our enquiry at the Lokoja township campus of the university was not successful.
