Ifunanya Miracle, a fresh graduate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University’s Department of Quantity Surveying, died while attempting to flee a yet-to-be-identified prankster’s robbery on the school premises in Awka, Anambra State.
Ifunanya’s friend, Peace, a student in the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry who was also involved in the robbery, was injured to varied degrees and was brought to the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital for treatment.
It was gathered that the graduate, during her studies, engaged in the business of point-of-sale operations on the premises of the school.
The graduate was alleged to have closed her company for the day on Sunday, June 9, 2024, and boarded a tricycle with Peace to a location.
The two were reportedly on their way when a passenger sat alongside them and allegedly attempted to rob them of their belongings.
A student at the school, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, told our correspondent that in a desperate attempt to flee the robbery, the graduate and her friend jumped out of the moving tricycle, adding that while Peace sustained injuries, Miracle was unlucky because she hit her head on the ground during the attempted escape.
The student said, “Miracle just graduated from the university and does a point-of-sale operation in the school. The incident happened around 7 p.m. on June 9, 2024. She does her POS business at the front of my residence.
“She usually packs her business stuff under the staircase in our compound, and the stuff is still there. She packed it and put it back there in the evening. But all of a sudden, we just heard that she was dead.
“We were like how? She still dropped her stuff under the staircase of our compound on Monday. From what we gathered, she was on a moving tricycle with her friend when a fellow passenger ordered them to give him their phones.
“While trying to escape, Miracle jumped out of the tricycle and hit her head on the road, and by the time she was rushed to the hospital, she had died. Her friend, who also jumped out of the tricycle, sustained injuries, and she is still in the hospital.”
Another student stated that the prankster who ordered the victims to give their belongings subsequently claimed that he was pranking them, and that unconfirmed reports suggested that the man had reported himself to the police.
The student said, “We heard the guy reported himself at the police station and claimed it was a prank. How can he be pranking someone on a moving tricycle? After the incident, we have not heard anything. This lady (Miracle) just died because of the carelessness of some people who claimed to be pranksters.
“It could be that he wanted to rob, and when he saw the outcome of his action, he changed the argument to pranking because of what happened. The university has not said anything about the case. The fact that the school has not addressed it is a concern. The girl just did her convocation.
“The girl who died is Ifunanya Miracle, also known as Bliss, and she was a student in the Department of Quantity Surveying. Her friend’s name is Peace, and she works in the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry. She was hospitalised after the incident.”
When contacted on Monday, the school’s spokesperson, Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, verified the incident and stated that the prankster, a final-year student, would face disciplinary action once Miracle was buried.
He said, “The university is fully aware of the incident. It was not a robbery but a very expensive prank. The students were told to bring their phones, but they didn’t know it was a prank. So, they jumped, one died, and one survived.
“The families of the victims and that of the final-year student who pranked the victims have held a meeting with us, and it was established that it was a prank.
“The families have reached some agreement, and we want the process of the burial to take place before the student who pranked them faces disciplinary measures.
“It was an unfortunate incident; the school regrets it, the student who pranked them regrets it, and the family of the concerned student will take responsibility for the funeral of the dead victim and the hospital bill of the other student. We use this opportunity to warn students to avoid expensive pranks that lead to death; the person will face the music.”
