A 300-level student of the Federal University of Technology Akure, Oluwapelumi Olona, has committed suicide after he was accused of fraud to the tune of N100,000.
It was learnt that the victim, who was in the Department of Industrial Design, took his own life in his off-campus residence in the Aule Area of Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Friends of the victim, whose nickname was ‘Black’, were said to have gone to his room on Saturday morning to look for him and found his room locked from within.
When the door was broken after several calls were not answered, the lifeless body of the victim was found dangling from a rope, it was gathered.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident.
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“His body had been taken to the morgue and investigation has started to unravel the reasons behind his action, but it was a case of suicide,” she said.
A friend of the deceased, Omoniyi Enoch disclosed the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.
Enoch, who spoke with the Union of Campus Journalists of FUTA, on its Facebook page, said that the victim could have ended his life over an allegation that he embezzled departmental’s funds with him.
According to Enoch, Olona served as the Financial Secretary of his department until his death.
He said, “When school resumed for the 2021/2022 session, the Treasurer of the department wasn’t around to receive payment for due. Joseph (Olona) decided to receive the payments from students.
“The President requested that Joseph should send N100,000 to him for a departmental project. Joseph sent it using his digital bank – Carbon. He was debited but the President didn’t receive the payment.
“Several emails were sent to the bank but the issue wasn’t resolved. Due to that, he was so pressured about it and everyone secluded him. He hasn’t attended lectures since we got back from the Christmas break because of the pressure.
“Yesterday morning, I went to get my phone from Joseph because his phone is faulty and we both shared my phone. He informed me that his HOD called his daddy and said he engaged in fraud. He was very disturbed about it.
“He requested to follow me to my office at the Students’ Union Building because he didn’t want to stay alone. I left him at the office to attend the homecoming event that was held at the T.I Francis auditorium and also watched the Awopegba match.
“When I got back to the office, he had already locked the office door. He came back to give me the keys and left. When I got home, I forced him to eat.
“At 7:40 pm, knocked on his door but he didn’t open. I left thinking he was still angry with me for leaving him at the office.
“At 8:30 pm, I knocked again but there was no response. At 10:01 pm, I tried again but there was no response, so I went to sleep.
“This morning, I went to knock around 8 am but there was no response. I had to go and check through his window and I saw him hanging from the ceiling.”