A 20-year-old student of the University of Ilorin, Hameedat [surname withheld], reportedly committed suicide after lending a man she met on the social media platform, Snapchat, the sum of N500,000.
According to an account of the story, the money was a part of the N1m that her mother had kept with her.
Authorities of Rubiks, the private hostel she resided in before her demise, Hameedat was undergoing her SIWES programme when the incident happened.
Shedding more light on the matter, the hostel management said, “The cause of suicide was traced to financial misappropriation. She was entrusted with a significant sum of money by her mother. She crossed paths with a guy on Snapchat and they developed a friendship.
“When the boy claimed that his mother was battling breast cancer and urgently needed N500,000, the compassionate and emotional lady decided to help him by lending him half of the N1 million she held for her mother. And the boy promised to repay the borrowed money.
“However, when her mother needed the money back, the boy abruptly cut off all contact, blocking her. This left her deeply troubled and in order for her to make up the missing N500,000, she resorted to borrowing money from various apps.”
Hameedat, therefore, managed to gather N450,000 from the loan apps, adding her savings of N50,000 to make up the borrowed N500,000.
The management further maintained that she was reported to have ingested a bottle of pesticide popularly known as Sniper the previous night, and her roommate (name withheld), who had retired to bed early, woke up in the middle of the night to discover her in distress while she was foaming from the mouth and also vomiting.
“Alarmed, the roommate sought help, and Hameedat was rushed to UITH where she was declared dead,” the statement concluded.
When contacted, both the Dean, Student Affairs Unit, Prof M.T. Yakubu; and Head, Corporate Affairs, Kunle Akogun of the institution, said they could not talk about the matter as they were participating in the 37th and 38th combined convocation ceremony which started on Monday, October 16, 2023.
This is even as the Student Union President, Ologundudu Adesunkanmi, popularly called Royal Prince, confirmed the incident, corroborating the narration of the hostel management.
He said, “The Vice-Chancellor and the Dean of Student Affairs are very much aware of the issue, and they have reported to the appropriate authority to begin a full-length investigation into the matter.
“It is sad that the university community lost her in such a devastating manner.”
