Controversy Trails Alleged Drowning Of 2 Polytechnic Students

Two persons suspected to be students of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, the Imo State capital, have drowned in Otammiri River in Owerri.

The incident, according to a source, occurred last Saturday.

The source said one of the deceased, Chukwudi Okwuchukwu, was a year one National Diploma Computer Science student and Igwilo, a friend of another student, who joined the swimming expedition.

However, the school authorities have denied the allegation, saying they were not aware of the incident.

An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said four male friends came to swim in the Otammiri River and snap pictures.

According to the source, a local warned the young men not to swim, saying it was getting dark, but they refused and continued swimming.

Further, he said the swimmers who were busy being snapped pictures by their friends swam to the deep side and drowned in the process.

The school’s public relations officer, Dr Ike Ibe, said the school was unaware of the incident.

He said, “No, the school management is not aware of such an incident.”

When contacted, the SUG president of polytechnic, Destiny Nwosu, confirmed that two people drowned in the river but maintained that they had yet to be identified as students of the school.

Nwosu said, “I heard that two people drowned at the Otammiri River, but we have yet to confirm that they are students of our school. I can’t confirm whether they were Nekede Polytechnic students or from the other schools in the state, and if they were even students anywhere else.”

The president of the National Association of Imo State Students (NAISS), Nekede Polytechnic chapter, Daniel Promise, said he saw the video on social media but maintained that they had not been identified as students of Nekede Polytechnic.

He said, “Up till now, no one has confirmed the victim to be their coursemate or anything like that. I can’t confirm that they were our fellow students,” Promise said.

Meanwhile, the two corpses have been deposited at a morgue.