AkwaPoly student dies in road crash

The Evangelist news

Tragedy has once again hit Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, following the death of Miss Faith Asukwo, an HND I student of the Department of Biological Science, who lost her life in a motor accident on Monday, August 18, 2025, along the dilapidated Aba–Ikot Ekpene federal highway.

Her death has reignited outrage over the deplorable state of the road, which has continued to claim the lives of students and other commuters. Students and residents describe the recurring accidents as a direct consequence of government negligence.

For years, the road project, which was originally mapped out for full dualization, has remained abandoned, with no compensation paid to affected communities. Instead, intermittent “maintenance” works have worsened the situation, leaving the highway riddled with potholes and increasingly dangerous, particularly for truck users.

Only days earlier, on August 7, a man and a woman were crushed to death in a truck accident along the same route, while another crash on August 18 near the market area nearly claimed the life of another student. In April this year, a female student and her unborn child died in a similar accident, and in January 2024, two Science Laboratory Technology students lost their lives in a fatal crash.

“The government has continued to ignore us because none of their children attend this school. They live in comfort at Ewet Housing and Shelter Afrique while we face death daily,” lamented one student leader, who joined others in demanding urgent intervention.

Stakeholders have called for immediate palliative measures, including the installation of speed bumps from the school gate through Ikot Inyang community, where many students reside, to check reckless driving by truck operators.

Students insist that the death of Miss Asukwo must not be in vain, stressing that both federal and state governments must collaborate to prioritise reconstruction of the Aba–Ikot Ekpene road.

“This should be the turning point. How many more lives must we lose before action is taken?” they queried. The tragic incident has once more underscored the urgent need for infrastructural intervention to save lives along the accident-prone corridor.