Grief reportedly swept through the Federal University, Lokoja, following the tragic death of a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, Dr. Kemi Emmanuel, who was crushed by a trailer in the Felele area of Lokoja, Kogi State, on Wednesday.
According to reports, the accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. near the Crusher area of the state capital. Dr. Emmanuel was said to have fallen from a commercial motorcycle before being run over by a speeding truck.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Tenimu Etuku, described the occurrence as highly unfortunate. He explained that FRSC officials responded swiftly after receiving the distress call and immediately took the victim to the Kogi State Specialist Hospital, where doctors confirmed her death.
Etuku, who expressed dismay over the conduct of the motorcycle rider involved, said the victim’s remains had been deposited in the hospital’s mortuary.
The tragic development reportedly threw the university community into mourning, as colleagues and students took to social media to express shock and sadness over the sudden loss of the respected lecturer.
One of her students, Olanrewaju Rotimi, described the deceased as “The Mother of Theatre Arts.”
While he was recounting their last conversation a few hours before the incident, he said, “RIP to the Mother of Theatre Arts, Federal University Lokoja, Dr. Mrs. Kemi Emmanuel Owonubi. We spoke till 1 p.m. yesterday because I was supposed to follow you to get some vendor receipts for the convocation.”
“I told you I wasn’t feeling well, and you prayed for me to be fine. A few hours later, I got the saddest call that you had been taken to the Specialist Hospital.”
The student reportedly expressed deep sorrow over her death, recalling that only a week earlier, Dr. Emmanuel had asked her to pick up some clothes for departmental use and distribute a few to 100-level students who needed them.
The colleague said she was heartbroken and appealed to the government to restrict heavy-duty trucks from passing through Felele, stressing that residents were tired of the recurring tragedies.
In response to the incident, residents and students were said to have renewed their calls on the Kogi State Government to take urgent and strategic measures to prevent further loss of lives in similar accidents.
It was also recalled that PUNCH Metro had reported in May 2025 that 19 people, including five children, died in a fatal crash along the Obajana–Lokoja road, an event that prompted Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to order stricter enforcement of traffic laws on federal highways.
Likewise, six people reportedly lost their lives in April in an accident along the Lokoja–Abuja road, while another crash on October 12 claimed 10 lives on the same Obajana–Lokoja route.
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