The Enugu Government has described the report of the sudden death of students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Agbani, from a strange illness and the negligence of the institution as false.
There had been an unconfirmed report about the death of some students following a strange illness.
The report had caused fear among students and workers of the university.
Meanwhile, the state government says it swung into action following the report and visited the university campus to ascertain the veracity of the report.
Speaking during a visit to the university, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, who led a team of government officials, said the government was genuinely concerned about the welfare of students.
He said this prompted it to go beyond the report of the Commissioner for Health, Prof Emmanuel Obi, who was earlier directed to conduct an investigation.
Onyia said, “The governor is concerned and has asked that we come here for a preliminary fact-finding mission concerning what we have read on social media, and a few of them were also communicated to us directly as regards the concerns they have about the medical facilities.
“He has asked us to find out what is going on with the state of the facilities and the veracity of a few comments made on social media through the National Association of Nigerian Students. So, we have decided as a government, to visit, to make sure that we are open to getting information from students, and from the citizens generally.
“We have inspected the facilities now, and from what we have seen and heard, we are clear that the intention behind the social media post may have been to mislead members of the public. But one thing is important, the state government is committed to the safety of the lives of students, and to providing them a conducive learning environment.
