A tragic incident occurred on Monday at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, resulting in the death of a female student from Peaceland University, a private institution located nearby.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident happened during a celebration after final year examinations, where a graduating student was driving recklessly and lost control of the vehicle due to apparent brake failure. The car plowed into a crowd of students, hitting several individuals before running over the victim.
A video clip recorded after the accident, circulating on various WhatsApp groups, shows students attempting to lift the vehicle off the victim’s body. The Institute’s management has confirmed the incident.
In a circular issued on Tuesday, the Acting Rector of IMT, Emeka Ejim, stated that he had repeatedly warned students against “riotous and excessive celebration”. Mr. Ejim revealed that the deceased was not an IMT student but from Peaceland University, who came to sign off one of the injured students.
Apart from the deceased, two other female students from the public administration department were injured in the accident. They are currently receiving treatment at Posh Hospital in the New Haven Area of Enugu. One of the injured students, an HND I student, will be transferred to the Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu on Wednesday due to a fractured bone in her leg.
The second injured student is an HND II student from the same department. The Acting Rector announced the indefinite suspension of the final year examinations in the institution to allow for an investigation into the incident.
“The Academic Board and management will be having an emergency meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, 2 October 2024, at 9:00 a.m. to deliberate further,” Mr. Ejim said.
The institution’s spokesperson, Mark Eze, told REFMEDIAGISTS on Tuesday that the examination was suspended to investigate the incident. “We want to find out what happened and how it happened. Despite all our warnings, these students still went ahead to do the type of celebrations that led to this incident,” Mr. Eze, a lawyer, said.