Cousin Mourns UNN Student Killed in Fatal Sign-Out Party

A grieving relative has poured out his heart over the sudden death of his cousin, one of four University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) students who lost their lives after a house party in the Hilltop area of Nsukka, Enugu State, on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

Ugwuanyi Ikenna took to social media to lament the passing of Nnamochie, affectionately called Dodo or Doodo, describing him as his “cute, calm and super intelligent younger cousin.” The young man was among the four victims — two males and two females — who died after falling ill during what was meant to be a celebration of a friend’s completion of final-year examinations.

In an emotional post, Ugwuanyi recalled speaking with his cousin only days earlier. He had been in Nsukka the previous week and promised to visit that weekend after an unexpected appointment prevented a meeting. Instead, he returned from Lagos only to find himself at the mortuary staring at a lifeless body. “Just yesterday, you became so incommunicado that no member of your family could reach… only for me to come back from Lagos yesterday and today, it’s me visiting you in the mortuary so lifeless,” he wrote.

Survivors of the gathering, held at an off-campus lodge known as End in Praise Lodge or Praise Lodge in the Hilltop community, told him that Nnamochie neither drank alcohol nor took drugs. Ugwuanyi insisted the family and community of Umu Ezeomawulu would not rest until the truth emerged. “Trust umu ezeomawulu won’t disappoint you… we will definitely get to the root,” he vowed. He also shared a breakdown of those present: about 11 people in the room (five young men and six young women), with only one female refusing to drink. Two males and two females died; three males and three females remained alive and were receiving treatment.

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Police and university accounts largely align on the numbers and location. The Enugu State Police Command said the victims took ill after allegedly consuming alcoholic beverages at the sign-out celebration. Alcoholic drinks were recovered from the scene. The four were confirmed dead on arrival at hospital, while six others were hospitalised. The remains have been deposited in a mortuary pending autopsy, and investigations are ongoing.

UNN Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ortuanya confirmed the deaths of four students and the hospitalisation of six others. He said about 10 students from different departments (not solely Pharmacy as initially rumoured) had gathered to celebrate a friend who had finished his final examinations. The university received a distress call around 10 p.m. on November 11 and deployed security personnel to the lodge.

Ortuanya described the incident as “a death too many” and declared three days of mourning, during which academic and social activities were suspended. A scheduled town-hall meeting with Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah was also postponed.

A survivor has given a more detailed account. The 24-year-old Art Education student said the party was organised by a friend named David. Roughly 10 people shared two bottles of Best gin and Magic Moment while playing Truth or Dare. One participant began vomiting; the survivor helped him and then cleaned the floor before suddenly losing consciousness. He woke hours later to find several friends lying motionless. He maintained that only alcohol was consumed, in small quantities, and denied any use of hard drugs or smoking. Windows and doors were closed, a generator ran outside, and a fan was on inside the room.

The tragedy has left the university community and families reeling. While police continue their probe into the exact cause of the deaths, relatives such as Ugwuanyi Ikenna are determined that unanswered questions surrounding the night will not be left unresolved.