A tragic road accident in Ebonyi State on Wednesday, January 22, 2024, claimed the life of an unidentified prospective female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The incident occurred as a group of 12 prospective corps members traveled in a 14-seater bus to the NYSC orientation camp in Afikpo town, located in the Afikpo Local Government Area of the state.
The corps members, identified as part of the 2024 Batch C Stream II group, were on their way to commence their three-week orientation program. However, their journey took a devastating turn when their Enugu North Mass Transit bus collided with a parked truck along the Amasiri-Okiigwe route, near the Amenu community in Okposi.
Local sources noted that the deceased succumbed to injuries sustained in the crash, while other passengers, including her fellow corps members, suffered various degrees of injuries. Residents and security agencies in the area quickly intervened, rushing the injured victims to David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences in Uburu for treatment.
A local resident familiar with the incident shared, “Corps members had an accident while going to the NYSC camp. The accident happened in the Amenu community in Okposi. A female corps member died. The bus is a 14-seater bus with 12 of them being corps members. Others sustained injuries.”
A source at the hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to PUNCH that the victims were brought in by security officials and are currently responding to treatment.
Ebonyi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Igwe Henry, also confirmed the accident but explained that detailed information about casualties could not be immediately ascertained since bystanders had already rescued the victims before his team arrived at the scene.
He said, “At the time our men from Amasiri Unit Command got the information and got to the scene, the victims had been rescued. They didn’t directly carry out the rescue, and therefore, could not ascertain specifics of what happened.
“However, the crash occurred on January 22, at about 1400 hours. The route was Amasiri-Okiigwe which they call Amenu village in Okposi. Two vehicles were involved, one was a Toyota commercial bus, grey colour, and the other was a commercial Mercedes-Benz tipper (truck).
“So, from preliminary findings, it may have been caused by excessive speed on the part of the commercial vehicle, that is the bus. But the details as to the number of injured and so on, have not been ascertained, because like I said, the victims were actually rescued by bystanders and then taken to David Umahi Hospital in Uburu.
“And then the items recovered at the scene, I understand, are in the custody of one Chief Amos of the Amenu Village in the same Oposi. At the King David’s Hospital, where my men went, the ones they saw were actually in stable condition.”
The NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs. Foluke Oladeinde, also acknowledged the incident but declined to provide further details, stating, “I’m not in the right frame of mind to talk now. I’m in the hospital.”
