Toluwase Jesutunmise, a 500-level Building Technology student at Covenant University, Ogun State, passed away after collapsing during a football practice on campus.
Professor Timothy Anake, the vice-chancellor of the university, stated that the incident happened on Monday, April 6, 2026.
According to the statement, the dead student had taken part in a football practice before leaving the game to rest due to weariness and leg pain.
It further stated that a few moments later, his teammates saw that he was having trouble breathing and hurried him to the emergency room of the university’s medical center, which is across from the field.
However, it was reported that he had ceased breathing prior to reaching the facility.
“On Monday, April 6, 2026, the Covenant University community experienced the unfortunate loss of one of our precious students,” the message said in part. Jesutunmise, a focused and energetic student, took part in a school football practice.
He reportedly complained of leg pain and exhaustion, so he left the game to rest. His football teammates quickly noticed that he was having trouble breathing and took him to the emergency room of the medical facility, which was right across from the field. But by the time he reached the institution, his respiration had stopped.
The vice-chancellor went on to say that although he was brought in without showing any signs of life, medical staff used an automated external defibrillator to start cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but all attempts to revive him were failed.
Anake further revealed that Jesutunmise was later declared clinically dead due to signs of a previously unreported cardiac ailment.
The event sparked responses after some pupils allegedly claimed that Jesutunmise was having difficulty breathing but was not given oxygen or prompt respiratory treatment.
Additionally, a Twitter user @kamiikunre commented, “This oxygen has been a problem since 2017 KILODEEEEEE!!!!!” They have never done so! That medical facility is merely ornamental.
However, Anake underlined in the statement that the medical staff did not act carelessly and that all equipment needed for emergency reaction was on hand and in use.
“We want to make sure that there was neither a lack of necessary equipment for the treatment nor any negligence on the part of the medical staff.
From the moment of the tragic incident until the parents arrived, the university administration, under the direction of the vice-chancellor, was at the medical center and stayed with the family until he was laid to rest,” the statement continued.
The university described the death as a major loss to the university community and society at large, and it sent its sympathies to the grieving family.
