Tragedy struck yesterday at the study centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Kanshio area of Makurdi, Benue State, when a final year student of the institution was knocked down and killed by a moving truck.
The main gate of the institution is situated opposite the mechanic village in Kanshio community, along the Makurdi-Otukpo-Enugu road while Kanshio village is about 5 kilometres from the capital city.
The 32-year-old-student, identified at Moses Nandeve was a student of the department of information and technology in the university.
Sources said the deceased on a motorcycle on his way to the centre for the on-going examination and it was when the motorcyclist attempted to make a turn into the school that the truck rammed into them, killing the student in the process.
Witnesses told LEADERSHIP that the truck driver who was heading towards Aliade, from Makurdi town, was speeding and may have lost control of the vehicle meandered severally before running into the victims.
The motorcyclist however survived the accident with injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Following the incident, aggrieved students of the institution barricaded the major highway in protest and attempted to set the truck ablaze before the police arrived and prevented it.
The ugly incident which occurred at noon caused serious traffic congestion on the busy road for several hours and disrupted academic activities at the institution which resulted to the suspension of the examination.
Efforts by the deployed policemen who shot sporadically to disperse the protesting students were hampered as the visibly angry students would throw stones at the security men, demanding that the driver of the truck who escaped into the Nigerian prisons office be provided.
Source: Leadership