Angry youths drawn from the Iboko Offot axis of Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, on Thursday, besieged the portion of Abak Road, where a 60-year-old woman was swept away by flood occasioned by Wednesday’s first torrential rain of the year.
The woman, said to be a petty trader along Nkemba street, lives close to the scene of the incident, according to Anietie Sam, a local resident of the street. He added that the incident happened at about 4:30 pm on Wednesday.
He added that the woman was returning from the market where she went to buy her goods for sale when she was swept away and eventually drowned in open drainage.
“We made efforts to rescue her when we noticed she was being swept away uncontrollably by the flood.
“Before we got to her, the fast-moving water had already drawn her closer to an open hole linking the underground drainage facility,” Anietie said.
He recalled that “officials of the state waste management and environmental protection agency, had opened the slabs to remove sewage and cleared the drains, but failed to cover it back about three years.”
‘Officials initially offered to help but when the number of able-bodied citizens at the centre incre