Parents of the students of Madonna University have mourned the loss of their children who lost their lives in an auto accident on their way to Taraba State.
About eight students of Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State were reported to have been in an auto accident which had left the bus carrying them burnt beyond recognition.
The reports stated that these students were on their way home from Port Harcourt, where their school is located, to Taraba State for safety and precautions over the incoming general election.
A witness to the aftermath of the incident, Matthew Mbam, on his Facebook account, said the incident happened on Saturday, February 18, at the TTC/Special Science School junction, Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.
While eight students perished in the accident, seven others reportedly survived with injuries and they have been rushed to the Alex Ekwueme Teaching Hospital in Ebonyi State.
Seven other students reportedly survived the incident with varying degrees of injuries and were rushed to the Alex Ekwueme Teaching Hospital Hospital in Ebonyi State.
A parent who was in the bus equally got burnt beyond recognition.
Mbam on his Facebook said, “While returning from Nwezenyi, Igbeagu, Izzi, Ebonyi State, Nigeria this Sunday evening where I went to pick some people, I met this horrific scene at exactly TTC/Special Science School junction along the trans-Saharan road.
“Seeing the crowd of persons with some Army officers around the burnt vehicle, I decided to park my car by the roadside and came out to find out what happened. I was told that the accident occurred yesterday twilight being Saturday, February 18, 2023.
“After asking some persons there who all declined to tell me what happened, I met the soldiers who accompanied the relatives from Taraba State, directly to ask them what happened with the burnt vehicle.
“They briefed me that the bus was coming from Port-Harcourt, conveying some students from Madonna University with some of the parents who were returning to Taraba State for a break due to the upcoming elections.
“The story further has it that eight students/a parent are the bodies/ashes that were burnt beyond recognition. And about seven persons in bad conditions who are currently at Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, escaped from the bus when it caught fire after having a head-on collision with a Sienna car.”
One Facebook, a father to one of the deceased students, Ezra Usman, shared a picture of his daughter, expressing his sorrow over the loss. He said he never wished that sending his daughter to school was going to end her life.
He wrote, “Grace Usman Ezra, I never knew sending you to Madonna University would lead to your untimely death. 18 of you left Madonna for Jalingo yesterday only to hear the news that your bus had (an) accident and caught fire, eight out of 18 came out from the bus.
“It is well with the 10 of you and the rest that are alive, I pray for your speedy recovery and may God comfort us all that lost our children.”
