Mapoly Loses 7 Students, 3 In Auto Crash, 4 Drown

The Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Mapoly, Abeokuta, Ogun State southwest Nigeria has lost seven students within the last 48 hours.

At least three students were confirmed dead while many others were severely injured in a multiple accident that occurred yesterday in Kemta area, along Ajebo road in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The accident occurred barely 24 hours after four students of the school drowned in the state.

The auto crash which occurred around noon yesterday led to traffic gridlock around the area.

Men and officers of the Nigeria police, TRACE and the Civil Defence Corps were on ground to ensure free flow of traffic in the area.

P.M.NEWS gathered that the accident occurred when the brake of a truck with registration number FW 877LSR, failed. The truck was loaded with granite and was coming on a high speed from the Ajebo/OGTV road. It rammed into several about 7 cars at a bad portion of road.

In a another incident four students of the Apostolic Church Students Fellowship of Mapoly, were drowned in a river at Aro, beside the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta where the fellowship was having her seven days prayer and fasting retreat.

The deceased were identified as Ebenezer of Elect./Elect. Department, Olamide of Architectural Department, Nifemi of Mass Communication Department and Lekan, an ND II student of Business Administration Department.

The coordinator of the retreat whose identity could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report was being detained at the Lafenwa Police Divisional Headquarters, Abeokuta.

Our correspondent gathered that the fellowship leadership embarked on prayer and fasting retreat, first at a buiding in Oluwo area of Abeokuta before proceeding to the venue of the incident.

A member of the church who spoke with our correspondent under anonymity said, “the incident occurred a day before the retreat ended when the members decided to have shower at the nearest river.”

The source disclosed that the female members had finished bathing when the male students decided to swim, not knowing that the river was very deep.

When our correspondent visited the Lafenwa Police station this morning, an officer who pleaded anonymity confirmed the arrest of the retreat coordinator, but declined to make any further comment.

P.M.NEWS gathered further that one of the deceased, known as Lekan, an ND II student of Business Administration Department was a Muslim but only accepted to join the fellowship about two weeks ago without the knowledge of his parents.

It was learnt that only three bodies have been recovered so far from the river while the search for the fourth body continues.

The three corpses have been deposited at a mortuary in an undisclosed hospital in Abeokuta.

When contacted to comment on the incident, the Director of Student Affairs of the institution, Mr. Dele Soyemi confirmed the incident.

Soyemi, who explained that the school was on holiday, described the attitude of the police to detain the prayer coordinator as over-zealousness, saying, “they would not have allowed them inside the river, if the organisers have known that the river was so deep.”

Mr. Sulaiman Adebiyi, the Public Relations Officer, PRO, of the polytechnic,when reached on phone also confirmed the incident, saying,”the death of the students is still a rude shock to us.”

According to him,“we wish to state further that we are yet to be furnished with the entire details, but I can confirm the incidents. We also wish to state that no one was aware of such programe since it was not held within the school premises while the school was also on holiday.We however console with the families of the deceased students and pray for them to have the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

—Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta