Corps Member Drowns in Bayelsa

By Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Less than a month after a student of the Federal Polytechnic,  Ekowe, Stephen Adekunle, drowned while allegedly learning to swim in a river around the institution, a newly released  member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ojeshola Taofeek, has died in the same manner.

But it was learnt that while Adekunle was killed while learning to swim in the ocean, Taofeek slipped while taking his last set of pictures to celebrate his graduation in Nembe River, Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

It was gathered that the tragic incident occurred at the weekend when the deceased, who hailed from  Osun State went to the Ogbolomabiri jetty to take pictures of the waterside.

A source from the community, Igbogi Aprebo, said Taofeek was preparing to go home after completing a skills acquisition training on tailoring, which he started for self-development, before his death, noting that the deceased collected his vocational certificate in tailoring two days before the incident.

“The corps member passed out among the last set this year. He bought crayfish from my neighbour in preparation to return home joyfully. Unfortunately, he accompanied his colleagues to a water front (Jetty).

“He set himself at the edge of the Jetty to take a photograph possibly with the aim of uploading on Facebook or to show his people when he returned home on how he had safely ended his service in riverine area.

“But he fell into the river as the steps were slippery. Indigenes rushed to the scene having heard the sorrowful shouting for help. They searched him more than 30 minutes before he was finally found.

“They applied all the efforts to revive him but he gave up the ghost. Indeed, it is a painful exit. The people of Opu-Nembe sympathise with the corps members of Nembe Local Government Area and his bereaved families.”

Aprebo said the Community Development Committee (CDC) had repeatedly warned corps members to avoid contact with the river, stressing that the corps members were always adamant to  the warnings.

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