Tragedy in Owerri: Two Young Men Drown in Otammiri River While Swimming

A tragic incident has been reported in Owerri, the Imo State capital, where two young men suspected to be students of Federal Polytechnic Nekede lost their lives after drowning in the Otammiri River.

According to an eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity, the victims were part of a group of young men who visited the river to swim and take photographs. The source revealed that a local resident had warned them not to swim, especially as it was getting late, but the group allegedly ignored the warning.

The eyewitness further explained that the victims later swam into the deeper part of the river where they reportedly lost their footing and drowned.

The President of the Student Union Government of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Destiny Nwosu, confirmed that two people drowned in the river but noted that it has not yet been verified whether the victims were students of the institution.

“Yes, I heard that two people drowned at the Otammiri River, but up until now, we have not confirmed that they were students of our school,” Nwosu said.

“For now, I cannot confirm whether they were Nekede Federal Polytechnic students or from other institutions in the state, or even if they were students at all.”

Similarly, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Ike Ibe, stated that the school management was not aware of the incident at the time of the report.

“The school management is not aware of such an incident,” he said.

Also reacting to the development, the President of the National Association of Imo State Students (NAISS), Federal Polytechnic Nekede chapter, Daniel Promise, said he only became aware of the situation through a video circulating on social media.

“I saw the video on social media, but up till now, we have not confirmed that they were students of our school. No coursemate or anyone has confirmed that the victims were our students,” he said.

However, sources claimed that one of the victims had been identified as Chukwudi Okwuchukwu, a National Diploma I Computer Science student, while the second victim, identified simply as Igwilo, was reportedly a friend who had accompanied the group to the river.

It was gathered that the bodies of the victims have since been recovered and deposited in a morgue.