The management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo in Ondo State, has clarified that the young man reported to have died by suicide in Emure-Ile community, Owo Local Government Area, was not a student of the institution as earlier claimed.
The deceased, identified as Audi Emmanuel, was reportedly found hanging in his room off campus on Monday, an incident that initially generated widespread reports linking him to the state-owned polytechnic as a Computer Engineering student.
However, in an official statement issued on Thursday, the institution’s Senior Assistant Registrar for Public Relations and Protocol, Olumide Olugosi, dismissed the claim, stating that there is no record of such a student in the school’s database.
According to the statement, the management expressed condolences to the family of the deceased but emphasised the need to correct what it described as misleading reports circulating in the public space.
“The management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), expresses sympathy over the reported death of a young man, Audi Emmanuel, in Emure-Ile, Owo Local Government Area, who was wrongly identified in some reports as a student of the polytechnic,” the statement read.
It further clarified that a review of academic records showed no enrolment of any student bearing that exact name in the Department of Computer Engineering Technology or any other department, including the Continuing Education Centre.
The institution, however, noted that a person with a closely related name had at some point been offered admission into the polytechnic.
“Further checks indicate that one Audu Emmanuel was offered admission into the polytechnic to study Computer Science (National Diploma) during the 2024/2025 academic session,” it stated.
It added that the admission was not completed, as the individual reportedly did not conclude academic requirements or participate in institutional examinations, and therefore could not be regarded as an active or registered student.
The management stressed that linking the deceased to the institution was inaccurate and could create a false impression about the school’s records and community.
While expressing sympathy with the bereaved family, the polytechnic urged members of the public and media practitioners to verify sensitive information before publication, especially in cases involving identity discrepancies.
