Covenant university food poisoning – Hundreds of students of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, have reportedly been hospitalized due to suspected food poisoning in butters at the institution.
According to multiple sources who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES, the school’s medical center has been overwhelmed due to the number of students affected.
But the university is silent on the matter as calls and messages to the relevant officials were ignored and unanswered for many hours.
The father confirms the development
Meanwhile, a father, who resides abroad, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone conversation on Saturday.
The source, who did not want to be quoted for fear of the boy being victimized, said the student has regained some balance and is now recovering at school.
The source said: “We have had difficulty communicating with our son since we received the news. But today (Saturday), we contacted our son, who confirmed that he was affected by food poisoning, but now he is recovering well and is quite stable.
Other sources also confirmed the development but lamented the school’s decision to keep the matter under wraps.
A former university employee, who also requested anonymity, said the institution should have spoken about the issue “to calm the tension, but this whole game of hide-and-seek is not helping the university.”
Prohibition of the use of telephones by students
After the founder of the university and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo, abruptly announced many years ago the ban on the use of phones by students of the institutions, any student found with a phone in the campus will be sanctioned.
Students who are offered tablets for academic use are prohibited from accessing many websites and social media platforms.
In the past, students were allowed to use a public phone booth to contact their off-campus contacts. Many students who have adopted the use of email to communicate also fear that their emails could be tracked.
This has made communication with students difficult, even as the current crisis shakes the institution.
Evasive university officials on Covenant university food poisoning
Attempts to get reactions from the institution about the possible cause of the food poisoning and how the situation is being handled were unsuccessful, as calls were evaded and officials did not respond to messages.
The university’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Chichi Ononiwu, who did not answer her phone for hours, quickly disconnected the call as soon as our reporter mentioned the incident to her when she finally picked up the call on Sunday night.
Ms Ononiwu, who requested the identity of our reporter when she finally answered the call, hung up the line as soon as the matter was raised and refused to take subsequent calls.
Other journalists also confirmed Mrs Ononiwu’s similar behavior when they called her for comments on the matter.
it’s not the first time
This is not the first time the university has recorded a food poisoning incident on campus. A similar development was reported in 2010, when many students were said to have been hospitalized. Newspaper reports of the time confirmed the fact.