In a tragic turn of events, the body of Elizabeth Awhobiwom Ukah, a 25-year-old nursing student, was recovered yesterday from a drainage channel along Palm Street in Calabar.

The deceased had been swept away by floodwater during a heavy downpour on Good Friday. Ukah, a student of the Federal College of Nursing Sciences, Calabar, had attended the Stations of the Cross and Good Friday Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church in Big Qua Town.

The church near the bustling Marian Market in Calabar Municipal Local Council was her last known stop before tragedy struck. According to eyewitnesses, Elizabeth was walking home at about 8:00 p.m. with other parishioners when she slipped into a flooded and poorly lit gutter near Eastern Secondary School. A sudden downpour earlier had turned the streets into raging streams.

“She was shouting for help. We tried to reach her, but the current was too strong. Then we couldn’t hear her anymore,” a source close to the family recalled.

It was reported that a search began that night, but it was not until Tuesday, April 22, that her body was discovered lodged in a drainage system on Palm Street, far from where she had been swept away.

“This isn’t the first time we have lost someone to these open gutters. Every time it rains, the roads turn into rivers. We have pleaded with the government for years, but nothing changes. At least they should try and cover the gutters,” Mrs Eno Effiom lamented.

Another eyewitness, Emmanuel Orok, described the incident as traumatic. “She was someone’s daughter, a future nurse. Her death is a result of negligence. We can’t keep losing lives like this,” he said.

The Chairperson of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Cross River State Chapter, Josephine Bassey, confirmed the incident and expressed her condolences.

“It was unfortunate. I only got to know she was a student nurse after seeing posts online. She had just gotten into her second year. We pray for strength for her family and the college to bear this loss,” she said.

A source told The Guardian that her remains were deposited at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital morgue and later transported to her hometown, Ohong community in Obudu Local Council, for burial yesterday.

In response to the tragedy, the Cross River State Commissioner for Environment, Moses Osogi, expressed deep sympathy to the family and described the incident as unfortunate and preventable.

He acknowledged the pain and grief such a loss brings and said the government shares in the sorrow of the affected family. Osogi emphasised that while the government has taken proactive steps to address flood risks, including desilting gutters and preparing for the rainy season since December, community behaviour remains a major challenge.

“No government wants to see lives lost in such a manner. We have done a lot of work to mitigate flooding, but when people continue to dump waste into open drains instead of using bins, it undermines those efforts.”

He stressed the need for collective responsibility, urging residents to adopt safer, more environmentally conscious habits.

“The flood is not just a government problem. It’s a community issue. Until attitudes change, we will continue to see tragedies like this,” he stated.