A 25-year-old prospective Corps member who d!ed in an auto crash on her way to Ebonyi State NYSC orientation had boarded a flight from Lagos to Enugu over fear of road accidents and kidnapping, her family revealed.
Grace Afangideh had planned to complete the remaining part of her journey to the camp by road but sadly met her untimely d3ath in the auto crash which occurred at Amenu community in Okposi on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
The English and Literary Studies graduate of the University of Calabar, was the second daughter of her parents.
Speaking to the Punch, her family described her as a brilliant and determined soul with big dreams.
According to her father, Mr Camillus Afangideh, on Tuesday evening, January 21, 2025, Grace left home to stay closer to the airport.
“She could have travelled by road, but due to fear of accidents and insecurity in the Southeast, she opted for air travel via Lagos to Abakaliki,” he said.
“She couldn’t get a direct flight to Abakaliki because of a problem. Her last option was to land at Enugu airport and continue by road to Ebonyi.”
Grace boarded a flight from Lagos to Enugu on the morning of January 22.
The flight was smooth, and she arrived safely. But the journey wasn’t over, she still needed to get to Ebonyi to begin her NYSC orientation camp.
Unknown to Grace, who later boarded an Enugu North Mass Transit bus with other corps members, the very thing she feared the most was waiting for her.
“Thirty minutes into the journey, the vehicle she was travelling in collided with another, and she died on the spot,” her father said, his voice trembling with grief.
“Grace always harboured a deep fear of road accidents and kidnapping. She often voiced her concerns, never imagining that her worst fear would be the very thing that claimed her life,” he added, struggling to control his emotions.
According to the grieving father, Grace’s siblings had all believed Grace would be the one to change their lives, to bring them joy, to erase the years of hardship.
Her grieving mother, Rosemary, recalled how, just a few hours before she left on the ill-fated journey, they had shared what would be their final conversation.
“She had stopped working three days earlier to prepare for the trip. She used to work at Jendol Superstores,” Rosemary, her voice laced with sorrow.
“On the afternoon of January 21, when I returned home, I saw her packing and arranging her things. We talked for a while, and she was so excited. She reassured me, promising to send me her monthly allowance as a gesture of love. We were hopeful.”
After their conversation, Rosemary left for church. By the time she returned, her daughter was gone.
“She had to catch an early morning flight on January 22, so she decided to spend the night at the airport. I thought I would see her again when I got back from church, but she had already left.”
When Grace landed at Enugu airport, she called her mother. But being a teacher, Rosemary was in class and did not have her phone with her.
“I was teaching when she called. As a teacher, I don’t usually take my phone to class. By the time my colleague brought it to me, the call had already dropped,” she said, her voice heavy with regret.
That call turned out to be the last chance to hear her daughter’s voice.
After her lesson, Rosemary tried calling her daughter back, but the call didn’t go through.
She tried several times, but each attempt was met with silence.
Concerned, she reached out to her son, who was away at the time, hoping he could get through. But his calls, too, went unanswered.
By the time she returned home around 5 p.m., her other daughter informed her that she had also been trying to call Grace, but the line wasn’t connecting.
“I started feeling uneasy,” she recalled. “Could it be kidnappers? That was one of her biggest fears, which was why she chose to fly instead of travelling by road.”
As the hours passed, tension mounted. Friends began calling, saying they hadn’t heard from her either. The family frantically reached out to different contacts, each person dialing her number, but there was still no response
Then, around 6 p.m., what seemed like a glimmer of hope emerged. One of her friends, a corps member who had travelled ahead of her, called and said she hadn’t heard from Grace.
The friend kept calling her number until, finally, someone picked up.
A stranger’s voice delivered the chilling news: Grace had been involved in an accident. She was in the hospital.
Desperate for more information, the family kept calling. Eventually, the NYSC state coordinator answered.
“The woman said she needed my husband’s presence. But when I explained that he couldn’t come, she refused to speak with me and only communicated with my elder daughter, Esther,” Rosemary recounted.
The coordinator eventually gave them her number, allowing for direct communication.
She assured them that Grace was receiving proper care in the Intensive Care Unit.
But what they didn’t know was that the official was stalling, trying to figure out how to break the tragic news.
By Thursday morning, January 23, Rosemary spoke with the NYSC coordinator again.
This time, she was reassured that her daughter was recovering, and a wave of relief swept over her.
But that relief was short-lived. Moments later, a knock on the door shattered her world.
“When I saw unfamiliar men and women standing outside, I knew something was wrong,” she said, her voice breaking
It was Lagos State NYSC officials. They had come to deliver the devastating news
According to them, Grace was the only one who died at the scene of the accident. Two others later succumbed to their injuries, and the driver passed away three days later.
Requiem Mass was held in her honour at St. Lawrence, Isheri Olofin, on January 27 at 6 p.m.
Her body was then moved from Ebonyi to her father’s compound in Nto Ubiam, Okon, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, on January 30, 2025 for burial.
