The family of Ayo Ojajuni, a Nigerian Law School student who died on December 6, 2025, has accused the management of the institution’s Yola campus of insensitivity and actions they believe contributed to the tragic incident.
In a statement signed by Barr. Segun Odidi, who spoke on behalf of the bereaved family, the school was blamed for what the family described as an “inhumane and callous” handling of a disciplinary issue involving the deceased.
According to the statement, Ayo had been queried over a misunderstanding with a porter, despite already apologizing. A panel was reportedly set up by the school, but the family alleges that neither Ayo nor his mother whose phone number the school already had was informed of the panel’s outcome; but they can call her to break the news of the unfortunate death of her son.
Instead, the family claims that on the morning of December 6, 2025, moments before Ayo was to sit for his exam, the law school publicly announced that he had been barred from participating.
“This came as a shock to him because he was never communicated with about any decision taken by the panel,” the statement reads.
The family said the incident worsened Ayo’s fragile emotional state, coming just four months after he lost his father. They added that Ayo had even missed his father’s burial because of pressure from the law school.
Barr. Odidi, younger brother to the mother of the deceased, condemned what he described as a long-standing culture of insensitivity in the Nigerian Law School system, said:
“Why is the law school so cruel? Why can’t they inform students of decisions that affect them? Why wait until exam day to break such news to Ayo? This is unacceptable and inhumane.”
The family’s account sharply contradicts the version given by the Nigeria Police, Yola Command, which claimed that Ayo left the examination hall, returned in a commercial tricycle, and scaled the school fence before allegedly ingesting a poisonous substance.
The family insists the police narrative is illogical and suggests an attempt to “cover up the truth.”
“How can someone who ingested poison scale a fence? Why is the Nigerian Law School trying to cover up using the police to dish out a wrong narrative? What are they trying to hide? We demand answers and justice for Ayo,” the statement added.
Calling for a full-scale investigation, the family demanded reforms in the Nigerian Law School system to prioritize students’ mental health and well-being.
“We will not rest until justice is served and no other family suffers the pain and anguish we are experiencing,” they said.
The family appealed to members of the public, civil society organisations, and rights groups to support their quest for justice and help push for reforms across all Nigerian Law School campuses.
