Miss Atanda Modupe Deborah, a second-year student of the nursing program at Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), went missing on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. This was disclosed after students of the school raised an alarm.
On Monday, September 4th, she was reportedly last seen near the school's Pharmacy Twin Hall. On Wednesday evening, however, her body was found buried in a shallow grave on school grounds.
Miss Atanda was allegedly raped and murdered, as reported by fellow students.
A college student majoring in accounting provided some background information. Some of her friends had organized a search party after she didn't return from night reading. Two days after the school was notified, her body was discovered in a shallow grave behind the Faculty of Pharmacy.
Her bag with books and other belongings was discovered on a nearby damaged bridge, and her earrings and other items of clothing were located in a building close to the Pharmacy Twin Hall. She appeared to have been raped, but there were no obvious signs of mutilation or missing body parts.
Many students have since spoken out about how they feel unsafe at school because there aren't enough security guards, night lights, or student ID cards.One of the students explained that there are bushes in Oye that are similar to forests, “Anyone can hide in those bushes and do anything they want. We don’t have security. At night, the school is dark. It’s not strange to hear that a student was robbed or molested in the dark, and there’s no way to even determine who is a student or not because we don’t have ID cards. The school doesn’t care about us.”
In 2019, a student died after protesting the same inadequate electricity supply at the school and being allegedly shot at by Nigerian police.
Tweets with the hashtags #justiceformodupe, #blackwednesday, and #makeFUOYEsafe have been circulated by students and concerned citizens demanding justice for Miss Atanda.
On Wednesday, school officials issued a statement expressing regret over the incident and asking for calm from "all stakeholders."
Authorities said several people have been arrested and that they are still looking into what happened to Miss Atanda. Students were told to "vacate the premises with immediate effect" in the press release so that authorities could conduct "proper, holistic, and unimpeded, thorough investigations."
The Ekiti Police Commissioner said in a statement that the body had been transported to a morgue and that ten people were being held for questioning as of Thursday, September 7th.
The University Management has received a report on the case of Ms Modupe Deborah Atanda who was reported missing as at Wednesday, 6th September 2023; and Management is saddened at the current turn of events.
It is pertinent to promptly inform the entire University community that immediate steps have been taken in this regard, as all National Security Personnel have been drafted to handle the situation. As a matter of fact, several arrests have been made of suspects.
To this end, all students (Stream A and any other full-time student still on any of the University's campuses) are hereby directed to vacate the premises with immediate effect to ensure a proper, holistic and unimpeded thorough investigation, please.
It is worthy of note that armed security personnel have been quickly deployed for patrol, surveillance and security purposes.
Rest assured that all steps would be taken by the University to fish out any and all culpable persons; and they shall face the full and unmitigated consequences of their action(s).
A new resumption date for all students would be conveyed accordingly. We sincerely regret any inconveniences these may have caused.
The statement from the student Union government reads:
Dear colleagues, it is with a saddened and heavy heart that we mourn the gruesome demise of one of ours late ATANDA MODUPE DEBORAH who before her death was a year two student of the Department of Nursing.
The cause of death and manner in which she died is a thing of great pain to the entire student populace in FUOYE. As we say our goodbyes to a precious and bright student such as MODUPE, members of the FUOYE STUDENTS UNION GOVERNMENT (FUOYESUG) visited the morgue and we were able to confirm to everyone that no part of her body was mutilated contrary to claims and rumors flying around, we can confirm that not less than twelve (12) people have been arrested in connection with the crime and we would not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
While we mourn her sudden loss and pay our last respects to the dead, we hereby charge every security operatives in EKITI STATE to investigate and bring the perpetrators of this grave crime to book. A team comprising of the student union executives would pay a condolence visit to her parents and loved ones to show support for the family at this trying time, we pray God in his infinite mercies grant the departed soul etemal rest and give us the fortitude to bear the loss.
