Massive Food Poisoning Outbreak Hits Covenant University, Students Left in the Dark
Hundreds of students of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, are suffering from suspected food poisoning after eating from the institution’s butteries, PRISTINEGIST has learnt.
The school’s medical centre is reportedly overwhelmed by the influx of sick students, who are experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.
However, the university authorities have remained silent on the matter, ignoring calls and messages from concerned parents, journalists, and former staff members.
A parent, who spoke to PRISTINEGIST on condition of anonymity, said that their child was among the affected students and was now recovering in the school.
“We have had difficulties reaching our child since we received the news. But earlier today (Saturday), we got through to our child who confirmed being affected by the food poisoning but is now recovering well and is fairly stable,” the parent said.
Other sources also confirmed the outbreak but lamented the lack of transparency and communication from the university.
A former employee of the university, who also requested not to be named, said that the institution should have addressed the issue publicly to reassure the students and their families.
“They should have spoken on the matter to douse the tension but all this hide and seek game doesn’t help the university,” the source said.
The situation is worsened by the fact that the students are not allowed to use phones on the campus, following a ban imposed by the founder of the university and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo, many years ago.
The students are only given computer tablets for their academic use, which are restricted from accessing many websites and social media platforms.
In the past, the students could use a public phone booth to contact their relatives outside the campus. However, many students who use email for communication also fear that their emails could be monitored.
This has made it difficult for the students to communicate with the outside world, especially during the ongoing crisis.
Attempts to get reactions from the university on the possible cause of the food poisoning, and how the situation is being managed were unsuccessful, as calls were dodged while messages were left unanswered by officials.
The university’s Head of Media and Public Affairs, Chichi Ononiwu, who did not pick up her phone for hours, quickly hung up the call as soon as our reporter mentioned the incident to her when she eventually picked up the call on Sunday night.
Ms Ononiwu, who asked for the identity of our reporter when she eventually picked up the call, cut off the line as soon as the matter was raised, and has refused to pick up subsequent calls.
Other journalists also reported Ms Ononiwu’s similar behaviour when they called her for comments on the matter.
This is not the first time that the university has recorded an incident of food poisoning on the campus. A similar development was reported in 2010 when many students were said to have been hospitalised. Newspaper reports at the time confirmed the development.
