A senior lecturer at Kogi State University, Anyigba, Dr. Olabode Abimbola Ibikunle, has died under controversial circumstances following an encounter with a female undergraduate at a local hotel. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, July 15 2025, has sparked public outcry and triggered an ongoing police investigation.
Sources familiar with the case confirmed that Dr. Ibikunle, a married father and academic in the Faculty of Education, checked into a hotel in Anyigba with a 22-year-old 200-level student of Social Studies Education. During their time in the hotel, the lecturer reportedly collapsed shortly after sexual activity.
The student, identified as Gloria Samuel, reportedly rushed to the hotel’s reception area in distress, alerting staff that the lecturer had slumped. The hotel manager, Moses Friday, immediately contacted the police at the Anyigba Division. Officers arrived at the scene and rushed the unconscious lecturer to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead by medical personnel.
Police investigators disclosed that multiple energy drinks were found at the scene, which the lecturer is believed to have consumed prior to the incident. Although official autopsy results are still pending, authorities say the drinks may have played a role in the sudden collapse.
Dr. Ibikunle was widely known across the university as a strict academic, though students allege he had a reputation for demanding sexual favours in exchange for grades — claims which have now resurfaced in light of the incident.
Confirming the development, the Kogi State Police Command described the situation as tragic. Command spokesperson, SP William Ovye Aya, told reporters that the student has been taken into custody and transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Lokoja for further interrogation.
“The case was officially reported on July 16 2025, a day after the event,” Aya said. “We are awaiting the full autopsy results. Further updates will be provided as investigations progress.”
The incident has intensified conversations around lecturer-student misconduct in Nigerian universities, drawing renewed attention to the abuse of academic power and the urgent need for reforms within the higher education system.