The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, has dismissed reports linking the institution to a viral video showing a university official allegedly caught in an inappropriate act with a student.
In a statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Comrade Aloysius Emeka Attah, the university described the reports as false and misleading.
According to the statement, investigations by the university established that the incident did not occur at UNIZIK and that the man featured in the viral video is not a member of the institution’s staff.
“For the record, no staff or student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University is connected in any way to the said incident,” the statement read.
The university emphasized that it upholds the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and discipline, maintaining a zero-tolerance policy against any form of exploitation of students.
UNIZIK also condemned the spread of unverified information on social media, warning that the race to break news and generate online traffic has contributed to the spread of misinformation, disinformation and falsehood.
“The advent of citizen journalism, social media and the rush to break news first and also gain traffic has fueled misinformation, disinformation and the spread of outright falsehood. However, digital communication has also made it much easier to balance news reports and fact-check certain information before public dissemination,” Attah said.
The university urged members of the public, media organizations and online platforms to refrain from publishing unverified information and to retract and correct the false reports. It also reiterated its open-door policy, encouraging journalists to verify facts with the appropriate authorities before publication.
