Tragedy struck Egbolo in Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area on Monday morning when an articulated truck carrying building materials lost control and crushed four schoolchildren, leaving several others injured.
Eyewitnesses said the pupils were traveling from Egbolo to Ofuloko for school when the truck, struggling to climb a hill on the Idah route around 8:30 a.m., rolled backward and rammed into them. Villagers rushed to the scene, desperately pulling the victims from under the vehicle.
Community members, angered by the incident, barricaded the road in protest, lamenting the lack of a functional primary school in Egbolo. Many children are forced to walk long distances along dangerous routes to access education in neighboring communities.
A grieving parent who lost a son blamed government neglect for the tragedy and called for urgent interventions to prevent similar accidents.
Usman Idrisu, a youth leader in Egbolo, confirmed the accident, saying the truck had been ferrying pupils to Ofuloko Primary School when it overturned after failing to climb a hill. “The truck could not climb the hill after crossing the bridge and rolled backward before plunging into the river,” Idrisu said.
He stressed that despite Egbolo’s population, the community still lacks a primary school, forcing children to undertake perilous journeys for education. Idrisu appealed to Governor Ahmed Ododo to consider establishing a school in the area.
Some of the injured children have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased have been returned to their families for burial.
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