A pupil of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Primary School, Awka, Anambra State, Success Ezenwafor, has died after floodwaters swept away the school shuttle bus at the ring road area of the town.

Ezenwafor was among schoolchildren travelling in the bus when it was overtaken by floodwaters along the Awka-Nibo-Nise-Enugwu-Ukwu Ring Road in Awka South Local Government Area.

His body was reportedly recovered on Tuesday during a search operation following the incident.

Uche Nworah, former Managing Director of the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), disclosed the development in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Nworah said the recovery of the pupil’s body was confirmed by Chinedu Okafor, Mayor of Awka South Local Government Area, who was involved in the rescue operation.

“The body of the missing child, Success Ezenwafor, has been recovered. The other children are in stable condition and receiving medical treatment at the hospital. I am at Amaku Teaching Hospital at the moment,” Okafor was quoted as saying.

According to Nworah, Ezenwafor’s parents reported him missing on Tuesday shortly after the heavy rainfall and flooding in the area.

Two other children from the Ezenwafor family were also reportedly in the vehicle but were rescued.

A family member told Nworah that the pupil helped create an escape route for some of the children trapped inside the vehicle before he was swept away by the floodwaters.

The family member said Ezenwafor broke one of the vehicle’s windows, enabling some of the other children to escape.

“According to him, Success broke one of the vehicle’s windows, creating an escape route through which others were able to get out. Sadly, he could not make it to safety himself,” Nworah reported.

The circumstances surrounding the incident have brought renewed attention to the risks posed by flooding along roads and other areas of Awka following heavy rainfall.

The incident also left Ezenwafor’s family mourning the loss of the child, who had reportedly left home for school earlier that day.

Nworah said the boy’s father recalled his final moments with his son before he left for school on Tuesday.

According to the account, Ezenwafor kissed his father on both cheeks, said goodbye and boarded the school shuttle.

“He tragically never returned home,” Nworah said.

The other children involved in the incident were rescued and taken to Amaku Teaching Hospital for medical attention, according to the account.

The death of the young pupil has cast a shadow over what began as an ordinary school day, with the reported actions of Ezenwafor during the emergency becoming part of the family’s account of the tragedy.

Authorities and residents involved in the rescue operation continued efforts to assist those affected by the flooding and provide medical attention to survivors.

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, retired General Christopher Musa, has said every Nigerian should undergo military training to gain a better understanding of the hardship, discipline and sacrifices involved in protecting the country.

Musa made the remarks while speaking on the African Leadership Podcast with Ken Giami, where he discussed the demands of military service and the challenges faced by personnel deployed to secure the country.

According to the minister, military training would expose Nigerians to the physical and mental demands of service, including hunger, exhaustion, long periods without sleep and the need to continue working despite extreme fatigue.

“Every Nigerian should be able to go through military training. It will give you a different perspective about life. You will now understand what it means to stay hungry and what it means to work in days without sleep,” Musa said.

He added that such experience would help citizens understand the endurance required of soldiers operating in difficult conditions.

“It will show you what endurance means when you walk kilometres and you are tired but you still need to keep on going.

“You have not eaten; you have not taken one because of the nature of the thing and because you are doing it to protect,” he said.

Musa linked the experience of military personnel to the sacrifice involved in protecting the lives and property of other citizens.

“And that’s exactly what the military men are doing, putting their lives at stake for their country to move around,” he said.

The Defence Minister also appealed to Nigerians to have greater appreciation for soldiers, noting that military personnel are members of families who leave their loved ones behind while serving in difficult environments.

He said criticism of the military should take into account the conditions under which troops operate and the sacrifices they make to keep the country secure.

“Everybody wants peace, and that is important, so we want them to understand soldiers are fathers, brothers and sisters of people.

“They’ve families they’ve left behind, staying in the weather, rain, dust, night or day, staying there to ensure the country is secured,” Musa said.

The minister’s comments come amid Nigeria’s continuing security challenges, including terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.

He also discussed broader counter-insurgency efforts during the podcast, including the need for stronger domestic capacity to produce military equipment.

Musa further attributed increased infiltration along some of Nigeria’s borders to developments involving Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said Nigeria was also strengthening bilateral security relationships with neighbouring countries, including Cameroon, as part of efforts to secure the country’s southern borders.

Four illegal miners have died after a sand excavation pit collapsed at Tangur community in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The incident occurred at about 2:20pm on Tuesday, according to a report by counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama, after troops responded to reports of a sand collapse involving suspected illegal miners along a river line.

“The troops visited the scene and confirmed that four victims had died as a result of the collapse,” Makama reported.

The deceased were identified as Mallam Fahad Aliyu and three women whose identities had not been established at the time of the report. Their relatives recovered the bodies for burial.

During preliminary inquiries, troops engaged the community leader, who reportedly said he was unaware of the illegal mining activities in the area.

Further investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the collapse and the extent of illegal mining activities at the site.

The Plateau incident comes barely a week after 37 suspected illegal miners died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Minna, Niger State. The deaths followed their arrest during anti-illegal mining operations on September 15 and 16.

The Federal Government has since inaugurated a 10-member independent committee to investigate the Niger deaths, while the NSCDC Niger State Commandant and 20 other officers were suspended pending the outcome of the probe.

The cause of the 37 deaths has not been established. Authorities have ordered investigations and forensic examinations to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.