By Ogochukwu Isioma
Two students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have been arrested by operatives of the Edo state police command following the alleged drowning of their colleague (name withheld), in Ekosodin River, located in an off-campus community near the school.
METROWATCHXTRA.COM gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday afternoon after the trio embarked on a leisurely swimming trip to the Ekosodin River that fateful day. The deceased reportedly drowned after he got swept into the river by a strong current.
It was further learnt that the deceased was a final-year male student of Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Sciences; while the friends are 200-level and 500-level students of Biochemistry and Optometry, both males in the Faculty of Life Sciences.
In the wake of the incident, the BDPA, Ugbowo police division on Friday confirmed to METROWATCHXTRA.COM that the two surviving students have been arrested in connection to the death of their colleague, and currently being held in custody for questioning and further investigation.
A police source said, one of the surviving students, in his statement, admitted his inability to swim, while the other claimed to have voiced his concern over how risky it is during rainy season even though he was eager to swim. However, according to them, the victim reportedly insisted on swimming and claimed to be a good swimmer.
Tragedy struck when the victim reportedly dived into the deepest part of the River and began to struggle, eventually drowning. All efforts to allegedly rescue their friend proved abortive. One of them, in his statement, claimed to have swam towards the victim but was dragged under the water by the boy, who was struggling for his life.
Desperate for help, the other surviving student claimed to have ran to seek help from nearby individuals, but they claimed to be unable to swim. Realising that they were unable to rescue their friend, both students reported the incident to men of the Ekosodin Vigilante, who subsequently involved the police.
Meanwhile, the tragic incident has thrown the entire University of Benin community into mourning. Though, Management of the University is yet to formally comment on the development.
However, as at the time of filing this report, the search for the victim’s body was underway, but not yet been found.
