Kogi Community in Grief as Truck Accident Claims Four Schoolchildren, Injures Several Others

Tragedy befell Egbolo in the Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area on Monday morning when an articulated truck loaded with building materials lost control and crushed four schoolchildren, leaving several others injured.

According to eyewitnesses, the pupils were on their way from Egbolo to Ofuloko for school when the truck, which was struggling to ascend a hill along the Idah route at about 8:30 a.m., rolled backward and rammed into them. Residents rushed to the scene and battled desperately to pull the victims from beneath the vehicle.

Shocked and angered by the incident, community members barricaded the road in protest, decrying the absence of a functional primary school in Egbolo. Many children are compelled to trek long distances along unsafe routes to attend school in neighboring communities.

A parent who lost his son blamed government neglect for the tragedy and urged authorities to act swiftly to prevent future occurrences.

Confirming the incident, Egbolo youth leader Usman Idrisu said the truck had been conveying pupils to Ofuloko Primary School when it failed to climb a hill and rolled backward. “The truck couldn’t climb the hill after crossing the bridge and rolled back before plunging into the river,” he explained.

Idrisu stressed that despite Egbolo’s sizeable population, the community still lacks a primary school, forcing young children to undertake hazardous journeys in pursuit of education. He appealed to Governor Ahmed Ododo to consider establishing a school in the area urgently.

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.