Metro
Another Suicide: 300-Level Medical Student Drowns Self for Failing Exam
A 300-level medical student of the Niger Delta University, Ammasoma in the Southern Ijaw Local Governmant Area of Bayelsa State, has committed suicide for failing his examination.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the student, identified as Uzakah Ebiweni, dived into the Amassoma River and drowned before he could get help.
Sources at the university said few hours after Ebiweni’s body was recovered, another student attempted to kill himself by running into a fast-moving motorcycle was rescued by other students.
It was gathered that Ebiweni, a student of Surgery and Medicine at the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences of the NDU, decided to kill himself following his failure to realise his dream.
He was said to be among the students disqualified by the institution after their results were released on Friday.
Ebiweni, it was learnt, found the development difficult to accept and was said to have dropped a hint about his suicidal intention through his WhatsApp status update.
He was said to have initially posted the picture of a lit candle and later changed it to that of a candle with its light blown out.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident, but said no official report had been made at the command headquarters yet.
The Public Relations Officer, NDU, Ndoni Ingezi, who also confirmed the incident, told our correspondent that Ebiweni’s body had been recovered and deposited in the Sabageria hospital mortuary.
He said the late student might have resorted to suicide after news that he was among the 22 students shortlisted to be withdrawn from the college.
Ingezi stated, “You know, it is a general practice that every student passes the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery exams before progressing to the next level of academic pursuit.
“But Ebiweni and 21 others failed beyond the level that they could be placed on academic probation for another academic year; so, they had to be withdrawn. So, in our usual practice, we did not break the news to the students until they had been invited for counselling.
“When Ebiweni was counselled and informed that he would be withdrawn from the college, he accepted the decision of the college in good faith and left, only to for the university to hear afterwards that the young man took his own life.”
The first female President of the Federated African Medical Students’ Association, Esite Winifred, lamented the development.
She said, “Today, a medical student took his life after failing his professional exams. This brought back a lot of memories, especially the number of times lecturers used to spread negativity and discouragement at the initial phase of the medical school.
“Please, this should at least be a wake-up call to all students and lecturers in the faculty. It is not your destiny to demoralise young people who want certificates.
“Mentor and uplift them or be quiet. Nothing at the end of the day is worth dying for, especially not medicine and surgery.”
The Punch
A middle-aged woman, Christine Chika Anyanwu, who was paralysed for one year, has shared the incredible story of how she miraculously regained the use of her legs.
Anyanwu who lives in the United Kingdom gave her testimony at Zion Ministry, Okota, Lagos, last Wednesday. She disclosed that her problem started on March 26, 2025, when she collapsed at work in London and became unconscious, and was later diagnosed with functional neurological disorder.
After four months of admission in the hospital, she was discharged to continue treatment from home. She suffered several falls and multiple seizures at home and damaged her spine, and this compounded the problem. She was confined to a wheelchair for one year, with all the medical specialists she consulted in the United Kingdom saying she was unlikely to walk again.
Anyanwu said she was on the verge of giving up on life, but decided to make one final effort by heeding her mother’s counsel to seek for God’s intervention at Zion Prayer Movement Outreach in Lagos. Despite discouragement from siblings and a Catholic Nun who warned her not to go to Zion, and against the advice of her doctors not to travel over a long distance in her condition, she embarked on the trip to Lagos.
It was at last Wednesday’s Adoration programme of the ministry, that the Spiritual Director, Evangelist Chukwuebuka Anozie Obi, who noticed the woman confined to a mobility scooter, conducted a deliverance and prayer session for her.
What followed threw the auditorium into a frenzy as Anyanwu who had neither used her legs not stood up from her wheelchair got up from the scooter and started walking. When she returned to share her testimony, her siblings and the Nun who advised her against going to Zion Ministry now joined in celebrating her healing.
As part of efforts to ensure a transparent recruitment of 50,000 police constables, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has co-opted the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) as a critical partner in the screening process.
Head of Protocol and Public Affairs at PSC Headquarters, Abuja, Torty Njoku Kalu, said in a statement on Thursday that the decision was jointly taken during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting convened by the PSC in Abuja.
According to him, this forms part of the final preparations for the physical and credentials screening stage of the recruitment exercise, scheduled to commence on Monday, March 9, 2026, at designated locations across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu (rtd.), commended the PCRC for its relentless sacrifices and commitment to national security. He acknowledged PCRC’s tradition of investing personal resources in national security, and urged it to bring that same level of dedication to the recruitment process.
“The Commission is resolutely poised to ensure that only the finest and most credible Nigerians wear the uniform of a police constable. An effective police force is built on the quality of its recruitment,” DIG Argungu stated.
“This is why we have called upon you, the PCRC, and other stakeholders to serve as the guardians of this process.”
He charged the PCRC state chairmen to work with PSC officials, state employment and career departments, as well as the NPF State Intelligence Department (SID), to scrutinise applicants.
Their mandate includes verifying character traits to prevent individuals with questionable backgrounds from infiltrating the Force.
Responding on behalf of the PCRC National Chairman, Alhaji Ibraheem Olaniyan, the Deputy National President (North), Amb. Wada Sadiq, expressed profound gratitude to the PSC for the confidence reposed in them.
He pledged the Committee’s full support in selecting credible Nigerians for the Force.
The Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, has reportedly removed Benjamin Hundeyin as the Force Public Relations Officer (PRO) and replaced him with a new appointee, though the name hasn’t been officially announced.
Hundeyin was previously serving as the Lagos Command PRO before being promoted to the national role.
This move comes as part of Disu’s efforts to revamp the Nigeria Police Force and improve its public image.
As the 23rd IGP, Disu has emphasized professionalism, accountability, and transparency, warning officers that there will be no tolerance for misconduct or abuse of power.
