Staff and students of the Federal College of Nursing Sciences, Calabar, have expressed shock, and grief following the discovery of the lifeless body of 23-year-old Elizabeth Ukah in a drainage channel.
The body of Ukah, a student of the college, was found along Musaha Umoh Okon Street in the Ekpo Abasi area of Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State, on Saturday.
However, her identity was not immediately known, prompting residents to alert the police.
Officers of the Nigeria Police Force, upon arrival at the scene, turned the body which was faced down and launched investigations to discover the deceased identity.
Journalist Agba Jalingo, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, revealed that the deceased was suspected to have been swept away by flood while returning home.
According to Jalingo, Ukah had attended the Good Friday Mass and participated in the Stations of the Cross at Holy Family Catholic Church, Big Qua Town, near Marian Market, Calabar.
“A dead body of 23-year-old Ukah, a female student of the Federal Nursing Science College Calabar, was found in a drainage five days after Good Friday,” Jalingo wrote.
“The deceased was suspected to have been swept away by flood while returning home from attending Good Friday Catholic Mass and taking part in the Stations of the Cross at Holy Family Catholic Church, Big Qua Town.”
Ukah hailed from the Ohong community in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Images obtained by our correspondent show the body of the young woman lying motionless and partially covered in debris near the mouth of the drainage.
A video lasting over three minutes also surfaced online, showing her grieving classmates performing a final farewell ceremony in her honour.
“We believe that we will also be here one day,” one student said during the ceremony. “On this special day, I believe that we are set to bid our final farewell. We are praying that the soul of our late Nurse Elizabeth Ukah rests in perfect peace.”
A heartbroken teacher also expressed sorrow over the loss, saying, “It came to me like a shock just this morning. It is saddening that I could lose a student who was one of the most peaceful in the class. I will not question God.
“He knows why He took her away. I pray that God gives her perfect peace in the name of Jesus.”
Hundreds of students, male and female, joined the mourning procession, singing dirges and paying their final respects to Ukah.
When contacted on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Cross River State Police Command, Irene Ugbo, told PUNCH Metro that the incident had not yet been reported to the police.
“We are not aware at all. Nobody has reported it to us,” she said.
“I also read it online that it happened during the rain. It would be so pathetic if the incident truly happened. I will dig into it to see what happened,” she added.
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