₦airaland Forum

I am writing this to officially document a tragic historical event that has been completely left out of internet archives, as it happened before the era of smartphones and social media in Nigeria.

Between 2004 and 2005, around the month of October, a devastating lightning disaster occurred at Army Day Secondary School, Effurun (located along the NPA Expressway).

It happened just after regular closing hours, while students were staying behind for after-school lesson classes. A heavy downpour suddenly started, accompanied by severe thunder and lightning.

While some students playing football on the school field fell down but miraculously survived, the lightning struck the main tarred road nearby. The strike hit a roadside shade where people were seeking cover.

Tragically, seven people lost their lives that day: Three students of Army Day Secondary School (including my classmates, Oghenero and Tidings). They were severely burnt by the strike. A pregnant woman who was a passenger on a motorcycle. The commercial motorcyclist (bike man) who fell alongside her. A local roadside mechanic working nearby.

Several other students and bystanders were knocked unconscious by the blast. They were rushed to the nearby Army Hospital, where they thankfully survived.

To honor the deceased, Army Day Secondary School later built a decorated memorial grave on the school grounds where students held prayer services and dropped flowers. Because this happened in the mid-2000s, local print newspapers never digitized the report.

I am posting this today so that anyone searching the internet for Army Day Secondary School Effurun, Oghenero, or Tidings will find this public record.

May their souls continue to rest in peace.