Florence Atiye, a serving member of the National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) in Rivers, has died of an undisclosed illness after
journeying to Lagos for a family visit, an official has confirmed.
Chiwendu Chukwu, the NYSC coordinator in the state, said on Wednesday that Florence had embarked on an unapproved
trip amid the ban on interstate travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said a report received by the state’s NYSC secretariat
had revealed that she first complained of fatigue while en-route to Lagos but
her health would later deteriorate after she met with her family.
Chukwu said that, while the nature of her illness is yet to
be disclosed, the deceased passed away after efforts to save her life proved
abortive as she was rushed to a hospital in Lagos.
“I don’t know, we’re yet to be given information concerning
the nature of her illness. But what her sister told me was that she told them
she was coming home and boarded a vehicle,” the state coordinator told TheCable
Lifestyle.
“She was charged 10,000 but bargained for N8000. On her way,
around Edo side, she started complaining she wasn’t feeling so well. Her sister
said it might be the stress from the journey.
“By the time she got to Lagos, she was very weak. They
rushed her to the hospital. As much as I was told, she (the sister) knew
nothing about any illness and it wasn’t as if she was sick before she left.
“No one could tell but she didn’t say she was sick when she
was going home. After speaking to the sister yesterday, the mother couldn’t
talk because she has been crying since the incident happened.
“We have arranged for our staff in Lagos to go and see them
because we can’t move from here (due to the ban on interstate travel). From
what they told me, the girl has been buried.”
Atiye Olawale, a man claiming to be a brother to the
deceased lady, had first broke the news on Facebook while paying his last
respect for her.
“Good night my lovely sister, Atiye Florence. But this is
not our agreement. Rest in perfect peace, last born of the house. Till we meet
and part no more,” Olawale wrote in an emoji-laden post.
“Painful exit. You told me that I should come and visit you
once you come back from Port Harcourt to Lagos of which I made move. Before
getting there, you call me on my way that Bros Wale, don’t bother yourself. I
will be fine but greet our mother for me till I come back from my journey.’ Not
knowing that you were saying your last word.”
While the Facebook user did not reveal the cause of her
death, there were widespread reports on social media that the 2019 Batch C
Stream II corps member slumped and hit her head against a brick wall while in
her house on May 27.
The reports claimed that she died on May 30.
Chukwu, however, refuted the claims that she slumped and
died in Rivers.
“It’s true we lost one of our corps members. But the
information being passed across social media that she slumped and died is
wrong. That’s not what happened,” the state coordinator said.
“She traveled to see her parents in Lagos because I spoke
with her sister yesterday. I was told that when she got home in Lagos, she
wasn’t feeling well. They took her to the hospital where she died.
“So, she didn’t slump and die in Rivers. She traveled home
and died in Lagos. We have even informed our delegates in Lagos to go pay
condolence to her family there.
“We have always told corps members to let us know anytime
they’re embarking on such journeys. There’s actually a process that they go
through before they leave the state.
“But, since there haven’t been interstate movements in this
period, that is why we didn’t even know she was traveling in the first place.
It’s just quite unfortunate it all happened this way.”
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