Students die in auto crash -UNN

 

Several students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, lost their lives in a multiple road accident on Tuesday evening. 

Our correspondent gathered that the concerned students were traveling home after the university authorities directed them to embark on a compulsory two-week break. 

Although the UNN management had described the closure as a “mid-semester break,” it was learnt that the school was closed to avert a riot planned by the students to press home their anger at the lack of electricity and water in their hostels. 

The students were directed to vacate their hostels before 6pm on Tuesday. 

However, some of the students who were aboard a commercial mass transit bus met their untimely death along the Nsukka-9th Mile express way.

As of the time of filing this report on Wednesday, there was confusion over the actual number of students that died in the accident. 

Unconfirmed eyewitness accounts suggest that about 20 students perished in the accident, but the Enugu State Police Command said three undergraduates died.

Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Police Command, Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement made available to journalists, said apart from the three who lost their lives, five other students sustained injuries in the incident. 

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Amaraizu said, “Three persons have been confirmed dead while five others sustained various degrees of injuries.”

“The injured are being attended to at Our Saviour Hospital, 9th Mile Corner, Ngwo, while the dead bodies are also deposited at the same hospital mortuary,” he added. 

The police spokesman went ahead to explain the cause of the accident. 

“The auto crash involved a diesel truck with number plate AWK 311 XB, which is believed to have lost control as a result of suspected brake failure and hit two buses with number plates UWN 406 XA and UWN 57 XA and also a motorcycle,” according to him.

Before they were ordered to vacate the school on Tuesday, the students had planned to embark on a demonstration over the lack of electricity and water in their hostels. 

It was gathered that the planned demonstration was to take place within the week. 

A student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, had told our correspondent that there had been acute water scarcity, and no power supply in their hostels for a very long time. 

A statement issued by the university management, and signed by its Chief Public Relations Officer, Okwun Omeaku, had directed the students to vacate the school with immediate effect.