Ogun final year student kills self after suspension for exam malpractice

A 400-level Computer Science student of Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State, Joshua Lawson, has reportedly killed himself after being suspended for a year by the management for examination malpractice.

Our correspondent gathered that the 20-year-old Lawson killed himself on Wednesday at their family house in Lagos after getting wind of the report of his suspension.

The deceased, who was supposed to graduate with his colleagues on July 27, was said to have been heartbroken by the stiff penalty handed down to him.

The Director of Communication and Marketing of the university, Dr Joshua Suleiman, confirmed the tragic incident on Friday in a phone conversation with our correspondent.

He said, “The school is aware of the tragic incident. He was a 400-level Computer Science student. He faced the university disciplinary committee for examination malpractice; he was found guilty and handed a one-year academic suspension.

“He has not even come for his suspension letter, maybe he got to know about the suspension. But we don’t know whatever happened thereafter, we only heard that the student took his life.”

Some students have, however, taken to social media to mourn their late colleague while also condemning the university for being too harsh with its rules.

One of the students wrote, “How can someone be so close to the finish line just a month to their convocation, and suddenly, everything gets ripped away because of an ‘exam misconduct’ case? Two years’ suspension? Cancelling an entire semester?

“That’s not just punishment… that’s destruction. This isn’t just about rules anymore. This is a life. A dream. A family’s pride. And now that life is gone to suicide.

“Even if the person made a mistake, where is the compassion? Where is the support? Where is the humanity? No student deserves to suffer like this. No parent deserves to hear that their child took their own life over something that could’ve been handled.”

Another student said, “If this school does not stop some of their stupid policies or actions, it will continue getting worse!!! Like whyyyy…??”

However, Suleiman said the university was not crude with its laws, adding that the university management would never be happy to see any of its students die.

“The university is never happy that anyone dies, in fact, we wish this never happened and we commiserate with the family.

“However, like every institution and organisation, the university has its rules that the staff and the students are well aware of, and these rules also come with their penalties which are usually applied once an infraction is established. Like I said earlier, we are not happy that anybody dies, certainly not.”