BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA
YENAGOA — Tragedy struck,
Sunday, in the creek of
Yenagoa, the BayelsaState as
a 200 level student of the
state-owned
NigerDeltaUniversity, was
killed in a boat mishap.
The deceased identified
simply as Stella, was one of
the Bayelsa State
Independent Electoral
Commission ad-hoc staff for
last Saturday local
government election in the
state.
It was learnt that the
deceased, a student of the
Department of Political
Science, met her untimely
death around Famgbe in
Yenagoa Local Government
Area of the state.
She alongside other ad-hoc
staff were returning from
Akassa on the Atlantic fringe
in Brass Local Government
Area after the poll when
tragedy struck.
The boat in which they were
travelling was said to have
capsized a few minutes to
their destination which was
the Yenagoa jetty.
While the other occupants of
the ill-fated boat, said to have
worn their life jackets,
survived the accident, the
deceased who turned out to
be the only casualty was not
putting on her own vest
when the boat capsized.
Chairman of the state
Independent Electoral
Commission, Chief Blessing
Izagara, confirmed the
development.
Izagara described the
incident as unfortunate
coming on the heels of an
election, adjudged as free,
fair and most peaceful in the
history of the state.
He noted with sadness that
the death of Stella was
avoidable as it was not as a
result of fight between one
party or the other but due to
carelessness.
His words, “the life was lost
as a result of carelessness.
They were given life jacket in
order to safe guard their
lives, but she refused to put
on her own. When the driver
lost control, the boat
capsized and she lost her
life.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/200-level-student-drowns-during-bayelsa-lg-poll/