BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
A 12-year-old Primary 5 pupil of Holy Ghost Primary School, Abakaliki, Joseph Ikeh, has reportedly got drowned in Abofia River, in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
Ikeh was said to have left the school in company with two of his friends, James Elom and Harry Ojeh, on Thursday, August 12, after writing his examinations with a promise to show them his mother’s ongoing building project at Abofia, a suburban community near the state capital.
Abofia is about a kilometer from their school.
The Point gathered that Ikeh had left the school with his friends on the fateful day without telling his mother, a teacher in the school, that he was done with his examinations and wanted to leave the school premises.
According to his friends, on getting to Abofia bridge, Joseph opted to swim. The boy in his company said that he ignored their objection to the idea and dived into the river.
Ojeh said, “Joseph (Like) had been telling us of how his mother is building a big house at Abofia, how they would soon park in there, saying that he would occupy a room all alone. So, after our examinations that day, he said he would take us there to see the building. We accepted. We also prayed that God should give our parents money to build so that we would be also comfortable.
“The place is not too far from the school. We were supposed to cross Abofia bridge to the site, but when we reached the bridge, Joseph said he wanted to swim. James and I tried to stop him but he refused, saying that he was feeling hot. I didn’t know he was serious about swimming as the river over flowed its bank at the time in question.
“Before we knew it, he dived into the water and was swimming; he beckoned to us to join him.
Suddenly, we noticed that he was no longer comfortable and raised an alarm. People came around to rescued him. We left the school pretending as if we were going to the toilet; our teacher was not aware of our whereabouts.”
Stella Ikeh, mother of the deceased, said that she was marking her scripts as she was waiting for Joseph to finish his examinations unknown to her that he had left the school premises to Abofia.
Stella, a primary 2 teacher in the school, disclosed that her son was confirmed dead at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, on Friday, after fruitless attempts by medical personnel on duty to revive him.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Odah Loveth, during a telephone interview, said that she had yet to hear of the incident. She admonished parents to make time for proper care of their children during the holiday.
Stella, a widow and mother-of-four, from Nuskka in Enugu State, was said to have lost her husband in 2015.
