Ogun final-year student commits suicide after being suspended for exam malpractice
A 400-level student in the Department of Computer Science at Babcock University, Ilisan Remo, Ogun State, Joshua Lawson, has allegedly taken his own life following a one-year suspension imposed on him by the university authorities for involvement in examination misconduct.
Our reporter learned that the 20-year-old Lawson died by suicide on Wednesday at his family’s residence in Lagos after learning about his suspension.
The deceased, who was expected to graduate alongside his coursemates on July 27, was said to have been devastated by the severity of the disciplinary action.
The institution’s Director of Communication and Marketing, Dr Joshua Suleiman, confirmed the unfortunate event during a phone call with our correspondent on Friday.
He stated, “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 what happened thereafter; we only heard that the student took his life.”
Meanwhile, several students have taken to social media to express their grief over the loss of their colleague and to criticise the university’s disciplinary measures, describing them as overly severe.
One of the students posted, “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 wrote, “If this school does not stop some of their stupid policies or actions, it will continue getting worse!!! Like, whyyyy…?”
In response, Dr Suleiman stated that the university was not unfeeling in its regulations and that no one within the institution took pleasure in a student’s death.
He said, “The university is never happy that anyone dies; 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.”
