By Ibrahim Danladi
In a heart-wrenching incident, a 20-year-old student at the University of Ilorin, Sanni Hameedat, took her own life after encountering financial trouble due to lending money to an individual she met on Snapchat.
According to a statement from the private hostel management where Hameedat lived before her untimely demise, she was in the midst of her SIWES program when the tragedy unfolded. It was revealed that the primary reasons behind her suicide were the relentless pressure from the online acquaintance she met on Snapchat, who was urging her to repay a loan, and her brother’s inability to provide financial assistance, which led to severe depression.
The management disclosed that the root cause of this tragic incident was financial mismanagement. Hameedat had been entrusted with a substantial sum of money by her mother. She met an individual on Snapchat who claimed that his mother was suffering from breast cancer and urgently needed N500,000. Driven by compassion and emotional connection, Hameedat decided to assist the young man by lending him half of the N1 million she held for her mother, with the promise of repayment.
However, when her mother needed the money returned, the individual abruptly severed all contact with her and blocked her. This left Hameedat deeply distressed, and to make up for the missing N500,000, she turned to borrowing money from various mobile apps.
Hameedat managed to accumulate N450,000 from these loan apps, supplementing it with her savings of N50,000 to repay the borrowed N500,000.
Tragically, it was reported that Hameedat had ingested a deadly pesticide, commonly known as Sniper, the previous night. Her roommate, who had retired to bed early, woke up during the night and discovered her in severe distress, foaming from the mouth and vomiting.
Alarmed by her condition, the roommate sought help, and Hameedat was rushed to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) but was sadly declared dead.
The institution’s Dean of Student Affairs, Prof M.T. Yakubu, and the Head of Corporate Affairs, Kunle Akogun, could not comment on the matter as they were participating in the 37th and 38th combined convocation ceremony, which began on Monday, October 16, 2023. However, the Student Union President, Ologundudu Adesunkanmi, also known as Royal Prince, confirmed the incident and echoed the account provided by the hostel management. He further stated that the university community was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Hameedat and that the appropriate authorities were launching a full investigation into the matter.