UI Students Hold Candlelight Procession for Late Veterinary Student

The University of Ibadan community was enveloped in grief as students, faculty members and well-wishers gathered for a night of tributes and a candlelight procession in honour of a 500-level student of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Christabel Okareh, whose sudden death left the faculty in deep mourning.

The procession, organised by the Association of Veterinary Medicine Students (AVMS), served as a moving farewell to the late student as members of the university community paid their last respects to her.

Clad in black attire and carrying lit candles, the students marched in quiet and sober reflection through key locations on the campus, from Christabel’s hostel to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine complex.

In his tribute, the Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Professor Babasola Olugasa, described Christabel as a bright, dedicated and exceptional student who was nearing the completion of her rigorous Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) programme.

Professor Olugasa disclosed that the faculty would inaugurate a club in her memory to be known as the Shepherd Club Foundation of Christabel.

Also speakin, the President of the AVMS, Master Odunaike Faruq, described Christabel as a young lady who was full of life and godly.

Students, classmates and friends expressed their grief, describing her death as a great blow to them and the entire university community. They prayed that God would grant her family the fortitude to bear the loss.

The flickering flames from the candlelight procession symbolised the light Christabel Okareh brought into the lives of her peers and those around her.

Emotional songs and gentle chants resonated through the air, creating an atmosphere of respect, reflection and deep sorrow across the campus.

Christabel Okareh died on September 29, 2026, during an illness. She was 23 years old.