Tobias Sylvester
Many students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi State have reportedly been killed following the collapse of a bridge in the University on Monday.
The collapse of the bridge was as a result of a heavy downpour in the state which lasted for several hours. Many of the students were injured, where others are yet to be found.
The exact number of casualties was sketchy as of the time of filing this report as some sources within the school said two students were carried away by the flood while some said three and some even put the number at four with several others missing.
A source said, “I learnt that eight students have been killed, many others are missing. One corpse was found around the Nigerian Air force Base (over 5 kilometres away), many are still missing.”
According to another source within the institution said, “The bridge linking the classes with the hostels collapsed as a result of yesterday’s (Monday) torrential rain while students were returning to the hostels”.
Another student who pleaded anonymity said the incident happened between 11:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.
We gathered that students of the institution are currently writing their 1st-semester examination.
When contacted on the phone by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the institution’s spokesman, Dr Andee Iheme, said “An emergency Senate Meeting has been called this morning and we will hold a press conference immediately after that.”
