Nursing students protest colleague's death in Anambra

Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

Students of School of Nursing, Iyienu Mission hospital, Ogidi in Idemili North local government area of Anambra state on Monday protested the death of one of their students, Emmanuel Aniagudo.

The deceased, a second-year male student, was reportedly crushed to death by a hit-and-run driver along the old Onitsha/Enugu last Friday.

Aniagudo was said to be crossing to the other side of the ever-busy road when he was suddenly knocked down by the speeding sienna car and thrown into the drainage system.

The driver reportedly sped off, leaving the deceased in the pool of his blood that gushed out from his mouth and nose.

The protesting students, mostly in their nursing gowns, carried placards, barricading the major road and making bonfire with used tyres.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read, “Enough of these killings”, “we need check-points”, there should be bumps inside the hospital premises and on the major road where the student nurse was hit”, hospital management should compensate the family.”

Representative of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in the institution, Edeh Emmanuel, who claimed to had witnessed the incident, regretted that the deceased could not survive despite efforts to revive him.

He said, “I saw it all when it happened. He was hit by the speeding sienna car and thrown into the gutter.

“Blood was all over his body and we used stretcher to bring him into the hospital for immediate medical attention.

“He was provided with oxygen but he gave up the ghost.”

Reacting, the Hospital Administrator, Rev. Tochukwu Okwuchukwu, described the incident as unfortunate, assuring immediate installation of speed bumps on the road leading to the school.

“I’ve appealed to the protesting students to calm down and to leave the major road into the hospital compound to avoid miscreants taking advantage of the opportunity to cause havoc.

“We will build the bumps along the hospital roads as they demanded. In fact, we are starting off immediately,” he added.