The unfortunate death of Esu Rita Ema, a final-year student at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, has triggered a wave of grief in the university community. The event happened on Thursday about 12 p.m., near the institution's main gate.
Esu, a student from the Department of French, was reportedly on her way to submit her final-year project when she was fatally struck by a speeding car on the Ife-Ibadan expressway, just meters from the university’s entrance.
Eyewitnesses described the accident as horrific.
Akinnibi Miftau, the National President of the National Association of Osun States Students, NAOSS, who witnessed the incident, recounted the tragic scene: “I was an eyewitness to the accident. Right in my presence, a complete human being was cut into pieces.
”I think I’m correct if I assume that the driver was only sent to kill and dismembered her body part because as brutal as the accident was, nothing happened to the guy. He stepped out of the car like he was not the driver.”
Another witness, who chose to remain anonymous, confirmed the severity of the collision.
He said, “Rita’s body was totally dismembered.”
As at the time of reporting, the university’s management has not issued an official statement regarding the incident.
Efforts to reach the university’s spokesperson, Olanrewaju Abiodun, have been unsuccessful.