When Medical Negligence Leads to Avoidable Deaths
by Moses Oludele Idowu
Larry Martz’s book on Jim and Tammy Bakker titled: _Ministry of Greed: The Inside Story of the Televangelists & Their Holy Wars_ ( Newsweek Book, 1988) is one in my mind and which I will like to recommend to all our prosperity preachers to read.
There is something sinisterly wrong with the working philosophy, actions and even belief system of most of our prosperity gospel ministries and their outreaches. Something is just not right about them and you see this mostly in their actions, behaviour and operations. One thing most of our prosperity churches can’t deny or conceal is their greed and love of money. They talk like they don’t need money, that money is unimportant and not their problem and they don’t pray for it; yet in every step and actions they take, in all their educational and Ministry outreaches you see evidence of this greed and aggression for money, avarice, profit maximization even at the expense of human life clearly displayed.
The unfortunate but avoidable death of Toluwase Jesutunmise, a 500- level Building Technology student of Covenant University owned by Bishop David Oyedepo and Family few days ago brings out what I am saying. From all available records of eyewitnesses and fellow students that death shouldn’t have happened. If the Medical Centre or the decorative effigy that pretends to be such in the university even have basic facilities and accessories- which are not too much for a university charging that amount of money – Tunmise would be alive today. If the management and owners of Covenant University had prioritized human life, comfort and safety more than saving money, profit maximization Tunmise would still have been smiling with his parents today.
It is particularly saddening and painful because the death of Toluwase Jesutunmise is not the first or second or even third occuring for the same reason of lack of basic facilities. In this essay I will cite at least four cases of deaths of students owing to medical negligence, incompetence, incapacities and lack of basic facilities.
The attempt by the management of the university to trivialize the death of a young and promising scholar with politically- correct statement and lies is particularly concerning and discomforting. The attempt to distort the truth by claiming that the student had given up before being rushed to the Medical Centre is wicked for a Mission University of a church. The attempt to frame the whole incident as normal death based on “previously undisclosed heart conditions” so as to extricate the university of responsibility is amazing and largely unconvincing.
Here is part of the statement released by the Management and Vice Chancellor:
” Despite being brought in without signs of life, medical personnel commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation using an automated external defibrillator, but all efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful”. The statement also claimed the student had previously undisclosed heart conditions.”
This is what the university released as official statement and they are blatant lies. Expectedly the family of the departed student disagreed citing “material inconsistencies and a lack of transparency.” [See “500- level student dies during football match” _Punch online_ ]
Students who were eyewitnesses of the whole incident when the boy slumped as they played the Chancellor’s Cup however contradicted this official narrative as falsehood. They situated the cause of death on the fact that the university medical center had no oxygen to help the student as he struggles to breath before he finally gave up.
The colleagues have posted this online before they were shut down from speaking.
His colleagues in a post online, alleged Tunmise died at the medical center, because the university didn’t’have Oxygen. Here is what they said:
“Apparently, they were playing the Chancellor’s Cup, a match between Computer Engineering and Building Tech, Tunmise asked for an early sub as he was feeling weak and short of breath.
“At half time, his situation got worse, they rushed him to the medical centre where the doctor on duty allegedly said Tunmise just needed air. But minutes later, said he had stopped breathing.
“Apparently, they didn’t use oxygen or nebulizer. Because the ₦1.9m per session school housing over 11,000 students had nothing in their arsenal.”
This sharply contradicts the neat statement by the management that he died before being rushed to the Medical Centre – obviously to save the university from embarrassment.
Is it so that a whole university medical center had no oxygen? Is it right that a university charging this exorbitant sum per student every session had no oxygen in her arsenal and had to resort to prayer? The Nigerian University Commission must investigate this because this is not the first and a pattern is forming of gross negligence and incompetence. No one should maximize profits at the expense of human lives.
Similarly, in June 2025, a 200 level Engineering student, Mordi Nwese Daniel was struck by lightning on the same football pitch. The students alleged that instead of taking him for treatment, they started praying for him, until he died. Nothing in their Medical Centre to cure the student so they resorted to prayer.
An X – user @kamikure confirmed this allegation, noting:
“This oxygen has been an issue since 2017. KILODEEE!!! They never have, that medical center is just a decoration.”
He was referring to yet another student of the same Building Technology who also mysteriously died because the centre had no basic facilities.
Also in April 2017, a 500 level Building Tech student hit his head in the pool, students managed to resuscitate him, rushed him to the school clinic, they didn’t have oxygen or defibrillator, they again opted for prayers and he died.
Three cases have been cited here and not a single one of the death is unavoidable. If the basic things have been procured like oxygen those students would live at least they would survive till help can get to them.
The resort to prayer is fraudulent and an attempt to sanctify a spirit of greed masquerading as saintliness. How do you charge students economic price, how do you charge parents market price for education and health care then you resort to religion when it comes to delivering services? How do you recourse to rationality when it comes to charging and billing parents but resort to Faith when it comes to offering or delivering services? It is a contradiction.
In another post it was reported that when Tunmise was brought to the hospital rather than medically treating him but because they had no nebulizer or oxygen they resorted to prayer. Prayer is usually the last resort when all options fail but it is a different thing when medical option had not even been tried.
Is it really conceivable that a university charging 1.9 million naira per session as tuition has no functioning Medical Center with oxygen? Isn’t this worrying?
After the incident of 2017 occurred leading to death of a student for lack of oxygen shouldn’t a more serious organisation have put things in place to avert a recurrence due to similar lack and absence of facilities?Because the goal is profit maximization, gain and greed not service or human life. What is the cost of a defibrillator? What does it cost to make oxygen available that a whole medical center housing over 11,000 students could not procure? Oxygen for patients costs about 10,000 naira per hour and around 240,000 naira per day. Is this too much for a life and for all the money this university charges and all the prosperity this church claims it possessed?
The worst case of medical negligence leading to death in that same Covenant University Medical Center however was the 2008 case of Morenike Arulogun, daughter of Mr. Toye Arulogun. Because this case is already in court I will be brief and consign myself to exactly what happened as stated in the newspaper report without adding any comment.
She was a student of Faith Academy, one of numerous schools owned by this same organisation. She died of cerebral malaria and acute renal failure due to what was believed is lack of care. But the parents believed that their 11 – year old daughter would not have died if the management had not been careless over the health of their only daughter. “Morenike was allegedly abandoned at the time she needed the utmost help from her care givers.”
Here is the father in his own words:
“Morenike presented herself for treatment at the Covenant University Health Centre on Thursday November 13, 2008. She was back at the medical centre on Friday November 14, 2008 because the symptoms she complained of the day earlier persisted. No investigation results were obtained at the first visit so as to guide treatment.
“The prescribed drugs which were handed over to her were missing by Saturday November 15, 2008, according to Toye the elder brother. No laboratory test was conducted until the following day. Morenike’s class teacher confirmed that she moved her seat to the back and lay her head on the table during classes for three days but she did not know it was that serious”
How about that? Can’t you see a picture here of the same Medical Center? It was so bad that the elder brother of Morenike in the same school had to be feeding her 11- year old sister by himself. What happened to the management and the authority of the boarding house?
“The school did not have a drug usage nor health management procedure during this time. Cerebral malaria was a common occurrence in Faith Academy as we found out later.”
Still the parents weren’t informed until it was too late and by the time they were the child couldn’t recognize even the voice of her parents.
” By the time we were called on Sunday November 16, 2008 she had gone delirious, incoherent and subconscious with the inability to respond to calls of her name or recognize members of her family…
“We found out that there was no blood test administered until our arrival at the school. It was in our presence that they were trying to take her blood sample for test…” [ See Ebun Sessou, “Neglect in Boarding House caused my daughter’s death,” _Saturday Vanguard_ , December 3, 2011 p.11]
Need I say more? Isn’t that self- explanatory? Any further comment?
Then the Aruloguns made a dangerous discovery: the abysmal neglect in most boarding schools leading to death of students. Hear Mrs Arulogun:
“While we were mourning we got to hear of deaths and near- death situations which have happened in Faith Academy and other schools. There were so many we couldn’t keep quiet, because if someone had spoken up before now, these schools would have done what is right and I am sure my baby would still be alive today.”
Condolences to this family again.
Who supervises boarding schools in Nigeria? Are they on their own? Who regulates their activities and monitor their operations. Some of them are not better than slave labour camps.
Terrible atrocities are going on in boarding schools, colleges and universities – things that should not be associated with a Christian Mission. Why are people not hearing about this? Because of atmosphere of censorship. Because of information management and control. For example immediately after the death of Tunmise occurred the school WiFi, it is alleged, was turned off as a news control measure, and students are forbidden from purchasing data or browsing outside school’s ISP.
It is time people wise up and be sane. It is time Chrisitan ministries take seriously their obligations, assignment and contract before man and God. When you have a body of students under your watch and control, far away from home and parents it is a bounden duty to do your best to protect and secure them. Otherwise it becomes a breach of contract.
To charge exorbitant money from students for training which includes medical/ health services and then to result to prayer during medical emergency is a form of betrayal and breach of contract. Taking money from students and not giving them excellent medical services leading to death makes that money blood money. It is time for truth to be told.
There is no reason why Covenant University Medical Center should not have oxygen in her arsenal. There is no excuse for it other than negligence. After three deaths earlier over the same issue then it becomes inexcusable. Not for the kind of money charged at that university. Children should not have their future and destiny truncated because someone’s ambition is to be the richest preacher in the world or in Nigeria.
Winners Chapel aka Living Faith Church, the promoter of Covenant University has issues with money. It is always about money. All the controversies surrounding this church is always tied to money or related to money. Former pastors have accused this church and its leadership of unethical practices and unwholesome things, money launderings, smuggling, terrible things that are even too gory to say. These are the skeletons in the coffin that you won’t hear from prosperity preachers but are real because they know they can’t defend them with the Bible. They know they don’t get all their money righteously. In some cases it comes at a great price – sometimes at the cost of a person’s life.
All because someone wants to be rich and be the richest.
That is not Christianity; that is something else.
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©️ Moses Oludele Idowu
April 18, 2026
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