A final-year student of the Kogi State College of Health Sciences and Technology, Idah, has died in a road crash in Lokoja, only hours after completing his final examinations.

The victim, identified as Ismail Abdulkarim, was a student in the Community Health Department. He was reportedly travelling from Idah to Lokoja to visit relatives when the accident occurred near the Felele area, opposite Kogi State Polytechnic.

Witnesses said Abdulkarim was riding on a motorcycle when he tried to avoid a group of wheelbarrow pushers encroaching on the roadway. In the confusion, he lost balance and fell into the path of an articulated truck approaching at speed.

“He fell under an oncoming trailer moving at high speed, resulting in a fatal head injury. He died instantly,” an eyewitness at the scene said, describing a chaotic moment as bystanders rushed forward but could do nothing to save him.

The tragedy has thrown the Community Health Department and the wider college community into mourning. Classmates who had written their final papers with him only hours earlier struggled to process the news.

“After writing your final exams and heading to see your people, your life was cut short. It is really sad news. The entire Community Health Department has lost you. We all sat in class and wrote exams today, and now you are no longer alive. Rest in peace,” one grieving colleague wrote in an emotional tribute.

The National Association of Kogi State Students described Abdulkarim’s death as a devastating blow to the student body. The Idah chapter president of the association, Hassan Mustapha, said the deceased was widely respected among his peers.

“Late Abdukarim was not only a dedicated student but also a humble, peaceful and promising young man whose life positively touched those around him,” Mustapha said, noting that his death had cut short a budding career in community health.

The Kogi Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lawal Fagge, confirmed the incident and said the crash involved a truck with registration number KMC 23 YQ. He explained that the victim sustained multiple injuries, including severe head trauma, and that his body was taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, for autopsy.

The incident has renewed concerns over road safety and congestion around major institutions in Lokoja, where heavy-duty vehicles, commercial transporters and pedestrians compete for limited road space.