By Ogochukwu Isioma
Controversy has trailed the unfortunate death of Francis Anuide, the 23-year-old final year Chemistry male student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who drowned in the Ekosodin River located in an off-campus community near the institution, Thursday.
METROWATCHXTRA.COM, Friday broke the news on how Anuide drowned in the River after himself and two other male colleagues, Samson Kennedy and Wilfred Emmanuel, 200-level Biochemistry and 500-level Optometry students respectively, went on a leisurely swimming trip to the River Thursday.
Anuide’s body was recovered from the River by local divers on Saturday, two days after the tragic incident. However, the discovery of blood on the lips and the peeling of the skin around the neck region of the deceased raised suspicion amongst family members and relatives who demanded for an autopsy.
Further examination of the body also showed the victim’s corpse was swollen, apparently from the significant amount of water it had absorbed. There were visible signs of distress from the struggle in the water. But the divers attributed the cause of injuries on the neck region to a rope that they had entangled around the victim’s neck while underwater in order to drag the corpse out.
Earlier, the locals demanded that the body, after some rites and rituals have been carried out and respectfully wrapped in a white linen, be buried by the river bank in line with custom and tradition. But the family of the deceased insisted on carrying out an autopsy before the burial. A grave had already been dug at the river bank for the burial before the objection from family members of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the remains of the undergraduate have been deposited at the morgue for the autopsy, while the case has been transferred from the BDPA, Ugbowo police division to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) alongside the two surviving colleagues of the victim who were earlier arrested in connection with the incident for further investigation.
