A final-year student of the Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, identified simply as John, tragically lost his life during a routine Karate training session on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
The student, enrolled in the Higher National Diploma programme of the Department of Media Studies, reportedly left his off-campus lodge to join the Saturday morning martial arts session, where he suddenly collapsed upon arrival at the training pitch.
Eyewitnesses said he was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Ikot Ekpene, which later referred him to the General Hospital in the area. However, doctors at the General Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival.
President of the Journalism and Media Studies Students Association, Mr. Nsoefen Mark Akpan, confirmed the incident, revealing that many students, in disbelief, took the body to a church for prayers. Despite spiritual efforts to revive him, he was declared spiritually "admitted to the spirit world" by one of the spiritualists consulted.
The body was later deposited at the mortuary after the arrival of the Head of Department, Dr. Inemesit Umore, who addressed the concerned students. The deceased's parents have since been contacted.
Akpan expressed shock at the sudden death, stating that the student was healthy and even participated in examinations just days earlier. He was also known as the leader of the karate training group.
The Polytechnic community is still in mourning as tributes continue to pour in for the late student.