Students of Community Secondary School, Bumaji, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State escaped death by a whisker after a six-classroom block collapsed.
The incident happened on Monday evening as the students were playing games inside the classrooms after classes.
The cause of the collapse was attributed to erosion which had eaten deep close to the foundations of the classroom blocks but was ignored.
One of the students, who gave her name as Mary, said they heard a big bang when the roof and parts of the walls caved in.
“We were playing as we were dispersing from our classes when we heard loud cracking sounds. The next we saw was that the walls were falling apart. Fortunately we all ran outside,” she said.
An elder of the community, who asked not to be mentioned, also confirmed that no student or staff was affected by the collapse.
He however appealed for urgent intervention to avoid students studying under trees and exposed to environmental hazards.
Findings showed that the classroom blocks were built by a former member of the state House of Assembly, Cletus Obun, in early 2000 with some government support.
Principal of the school, Abraham Ashike, could not be reached as the area is out of network coverage.
But special adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on education, Castro Ezama, said it was unfortunate that it happened even when politicians were frequenting the school for their electioneering campaigns.
He however disclosed that SUBEB and UBEC were intervening in many local schools and will soon mobilise contractors to the site.
Meanwhile, Some aggrieved residents in the Ore area of Ondo State, on Tuesday, staged a protest along the Ore-Benin Expressway, to lament the naira and fuel scarcity causing hardship to Nigerians.
Travellers plying the popular expressway were left stranded along the route as the protest caused gridlock for hours.
Speaking during the demonstration, one of the protesters, said the recent hardship ravaging the country is quite alarming.
“We are protesting to send a message to the government, that we the masses are suffering,” he said.
The protest is coming despite a warning from the Ondo Police Command that residents should steer clear of any form of protest.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Oyeyemi Oyediran, said “the Command is aware of the agendas of the residents to stage a protest in order to air their anger.”
“He appealed to residents of the state to desist from such activities. Security agents have been notified to ensure the safety of residents and apprehend offenders of the law.”
The persistent protests across the country have prompted some police commands such as Lagos, and Ondo to issue warning to residents to desist from any form of violence.
The Central Bank of Nigeria December last year redesigned all major naira notes and the affected denominations are N100, N200, N500, and N1000.
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