A fresh account has emerged over the death of a 200-level Dentistry student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, with a family source alleging that misinformation from a friend may have driven him to take his own life.
The deceased, 24-year-old Ajibola Ibitayo, with matriculation number DEN/2021/023, was said to have been in high spirits before the incident on Wednesday. He had been awaiting his second-year examination results, which were released earlier that day.
Speaking to newsmen, a family source, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that contrary to public belief, Ibitayo’s results were actually good. The source claimed that a close friend allegedly misled him into thinking he had failed again, despite the results showing otherwise.
According to the source, Ibitayo had repeated the same academic level in the previous session, and the false news of another failure reportedly shattered him emotionally.
“He had gone through a tough time last year when he had to repeat the level. So when his friend told him he failed again, it broke him. But when we checked the results after the tragedy, we saw he had done well. Sadly, it was too late,” the source recounted.
The incident occurred at the family’s home in Ejigbo, Osun State, where the late student, son of a medical doctor, allegedly injected himself shortly after receiving the false information.
The family member described the death as a devastating blow, not only to his parents and siblings but also to the larger extended family.
“He was a brilliant and promising young man with a bright future ahead of him. To lose him to such a preventable situation is beyond painful,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Dentistry Students’ Association President, Adebayo Idris, in a condolence message to the family, described the tragedy as a stark reminder of the hidden struggles students face and the dangers of misinformation.
The family has appealed to students to verify academic information from official channels before acting on it and urged friends and colleagues to be sensitive when discussing such matters.
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