By Our Reporter
At least four students were killed and several others injured on Monday in Egbolo, Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area of Kogi State, after a truck carrying building materials lost control and overturned.
The accident occurred around 8:30 a.m. along the Idah route. A viral video showed residents frantically pulling children from under the truck as cries for help filled the air.
The pupils were reportedly walking from Egbolo to Ofuloko because their community has no functional school. The truck, said to be struggling to climb a hill, suddenly veered off the road and fell on them.
The tragedy immediately triggered protests as residents accused the Kogi State government of years of infrastructural neglect, including the absence of schools, good roads, water, and medical facilities. Parents lamented that their children are forced to trek long distances through dangerous routes just to attend classes in neighbouring villages.
An Arise News correspondent at the scene reported that Federal Road Safety Corps officials had not arrived as of the time of filing the report, and some pupils were still trapped under the vehicle. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, while families retrieved the bodies of the dead for burial.
Truck-related accidents continue to rise across Nigeria, with stakeholders blaming poor roads, inadequate driver training, and weak regulatory enforcement.
Residents say Egbolo and many other communities in the eastern part of Kogi have been abandoned despite substantial federal allocations to the state. They called for urgent government intervention to prevent further tragedies.