Four students at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, have died after a party in the southeastern town of Nsukka to celebrate the end of their final exams, the BBC reported. The cause of death has not been confirmed. Police spokesman Daniel Ndukwe said the two men and two women had reportedly fallen ill after consuming alcoholic drinks at the party. The university has declared three days of mourning, during which academic and social activities will be suspended. The deaths come amid a wider crackdown on fake and adulterated alcoholic drinks in Nigeria, where the food and drug regulator has been raiding suspected producers of unsafe food and beverages.
Vice-Chancellor Simon Ortuanya said the university received a distress call at 10 p.m. on Wednesday and sent security personnel to a house party at Praise Lodge, outside the campus in Nsukka's Hilltop area. "The preliminary investigation and interim report point to alleged alcohol abuse or drug paraphernalia and things like that. But we are not conclusive on those matters," he said. He described the deaths as "tragic and painful" and said the community mourned with the families "that have suffered these years to train the men and women in their studies." Ortuanya also announced a ban on signing-out celebrations, commonly held by final-year students, which often involve parties, dancing, photographs, and friends signing one another's shirts. He urged students to use graduation as a time to reflect and prepare for life beyond campus.
The university said it was working with security agencies to establish what had caused the deaths. Police also launched an investigation, saying alcoholic drinks had been recovered from the scene and the bodies taken to a mortuary for autopsies. Until those results are in, the official cause remains unconfirmed.
The case is being watched against a backdrop of earlier poisonings. In September, dozens of people fell ill after consuming locally made alcoholic drinks and herbal mixtures in communities across Ondo State, in southwest Nigeria. More than 11 people died in the Araromi-Obu area, and more than 50 others were hospitalized. Investigations found that some of the drinks had been contaminated with methanol, a toxic form of alcohol that can cause blindness and death. Nigeria's food and drug regulator, Nafdac, reported more than 150 cases in that earlier outbreak, including 48 confirmed deaths; more than 80 people were hospitalized, and five lost their sight. The regulator has been carrying out raids targeting facilities suspected of producing fake or adulterated drinks. Campaigners warn that unsafe products remain a serious public-health threat. The verified news in Nsukka is four student deaths, an open investigation, and a mourning period, not a confirmed finding that the same methanol problem caused this party tragedy.