Narrating his ordeal, Michael told SaharaReporters that the students, residents of Eni Njoku Hostel, invaded his room, beat him with iron rods and sticks, and carted away all his belongings, including clothes and shoes.
A visually impaired graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ifeanyi Michael, has cried out for justice after he was allegedly brutalised by six students of the university who accused him of possessing a stolen phone, leaving him with impaired hearing and vision.
Narrating his ordeal, Michael told SaharaReporters that the students, residents of Eni Njoku Hostel, invaded his room, beat him with iron rods and sticks, and carted away all his belongings, including clothes and shoes.
According to him, the trouble began when the students accused another student, Godwin Godson, of stealing a mobile phone and alleged that the phone had been handed over to him (Michael).
“Eni Njoku hostel boys accused one student, Godwin Godson, of stealing a phone, and they claimed that Godwin gave me the alleged stolen phone,” Michael recounted.
“In fact, the way they beat me, I only thank God that they did not kill me. I know these people. What beats my imagination is that they know me very well. But they accused me of being an accomplice; that he stole the phone and gave it to me.”
Michael explained that although he had graduated from UNN, he was still residing in the hostel while running a programme in the university.
The assailants, he said, forcefully broke into his room in search of the alleged stolen phone.
Michael identified the assailants as Obiajulu Chijioke Daniel from the Department of Combined Biological Science, Oraeli David Arinze from the Department of Civil Engineering, Ayogu Michael Chibuzo from the Department of Public Administration and Local Government (PALG), Dilinna Wisdom, Onwo Erickson from the Department of Civil Engineering, and Divine Udechukwu from the Department of History and International Studies.
“I did a programme in UNN after graduation, and I’m staying in Eni Njoku hostel. They broke into my room, ransacked my room, saying they were looking for the phone,” Michael told SaharaReporters.
“They stole all my belongings. As I speak, I don’t have any clothes, even one to wear to church. The same people who accused someone of stealing stole everything I have, my clothes, my shoes.”
He added that the beating was so severe that he now struggles to hear with his left ear and fears losing his hearing completely, while he is already blind.
“They beat me with irons, sticks, anything they could see. As I speak, I can’t hear very well with my left ear.
“I cannot be blind and be deaf over something I know nothing about. It is not possible. I want justice. They broke my nose while beating me,” he said.
Michael lamented that he had resorted to self-medication because he could not afford proper treatment.
“I went to the pharmacy and bought ear and eye drops, which I have been applying morning, afternoon, and night. Other drugs I bought have finished,” he added.
Michael further alleged that after the assault, the students insisted on taking him and Godwin to a native doctor to determine who actually stole the phone. However, the plan took a bizarre turn.
“After beating me so badly, they said they were taking Godwin and me to a native doctor to confirm if we had the phone as they alleged. On our way, they stopped at Ogige Market, and we sat there for about 40 minutes.
“When I did not hear anything from them, I called one of them and asked if we were not going to the native doctor’s place again. He said they had gone,” he narrated.
Confused, Michael said he questioned how such a visit could be made without the accused persons present.
“I asked him who went to the native doctor when Godwin and I, whom they accused of stealing the phone, were seated in the market where they kept us.
“How can you go and see a native doctor without the people you accused of stealing your phone? Who did the native doctor examine for the allegation?” he said.
Michael told SaharaReporters that he confronted one of his attackers, Divine Udechukwu, a former Eni Njoku Hall Governor, over the inconsistencies in their story, but received no explanation.
“One of the people who beat me is Divine Udechukwu, a former Eni Njoku Hall Governor. I challenged Divine that I did not understand the game they were playing,” he said.
“You people accused me of being in possession of a stolen phone. You people said we were going to see a native doctor, and you now say you people have gone, while the people you accused did not go with you. But he did not say anything.”
Later that night, he said, two of the students returned to claim that the native doctor had declared only Godwin guilty and that mystical powers had been invoked to prevent the sale of the phone.
Michael said, “We were at Ogige Market till 10 pm when two of them, who claimed to have gone to the native doctor’s place, came back, and claimed that the native doctor told them Godwin, whom they accused, was the person who stole the phone.
“The person who claimed his phone was stolen then claimed that the native doctor said Godwin stole the phone, and that the person who stole the phone was still with the phone to see what would happen.
“He claimed that the native doctor had done something to stop the suspect from selling the phone. They said the native doctor said we should come back to his place the following day.
“Meanwhile, they never mentioned the name of the native doctor they claimed to have gone to meet.”
He said the confusion deepened when the current Hall Governor questioned the group and received a different version of the story, with claims that one of the attackers was also implicated by the supposed native doctor.
He said, “When we returned to the hostel, the current Hall Governor interrogated them, and the same person who claimed that the native told them that only Godwin stole the phone told the Hall Governor that the native doctor said it was one Godwin and one of them who beat Godwin that stole the phone.
“As it is now, I don’t know what to believe anymore. These people almost killed me. They stole all my valuables. They stole my roommate’s valuables, too.”
Michael appealed to the university authorities and law-enforcement agencies to investigate the incident, recover his property, and ensure that those responsible face prosecutions.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of UNN, Agha Egwu Inya, directed Michael to lodge a formal complaint at either the Security Unit of the school, the Students’ Affairs Unit, or the Directorate for Students with Special Needs.
“Thanks for reaching out. Please, tell Michael to lodge a formal complaint of the incident, as it concerns him, to either the Security Unit, Students’ Affairs, or the Directorate for Students with Special Needs. That's the right thing to do,” Inya said.
However, Michael told SaharaReporters that he had filed the formal complaint with the Students’ Affairs and the Security Units since December 2025, but had neither received a feedback nor seen any action taken by the school authorities on his case.