Exclusive: Elder Brother of Boy,18, Who Died after Writing WASSCE Shares How He Drowned in Imo River

• An 18-year-old boy's dream of becoming a soldier was cut short as he lost his life shortly after taking the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)
• The boy's elder brother released his outstanding WASSCE result on Facebook as he mourned him
• In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, the boy's brother, Jacob Joseph John, shared how he died after drowning in the Imo river

Days after sitting for the 2024 WASSCE, a young boy, Jacob Elijah Kelechi, passed away and threw his family into mourning.

On August 19, Elijah's elder brother, Jacob Joseph John, broke the sad news on Facebook and released his WASSCE result.

"Keep resting my little brother.

"Your WAEC result is out.

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"You made it," an emotional John wrote on Facebook.

Elijah's WASSCE result was a mixture of distinction and credits.

How Elijah drowned after writing WASSCE

Legit.ng contacted John to enquire about what led to Elijah's death.

John, a teacher, revealed that his younger brother drowned in the Imo river, Abia state, on July 12 and has since been buried.

Narrating the event of that fateful day, John said:

"It happened that they entered a boat. You understand? They were like five on the boat. As they were coming back from the river, because that area, they do bunkering, so, they saw military people.

"When they saw the military people, they were scared. Those of them that knew how to swim were diving inside (the water).

"Himself (Elijah), he didn't know how to swim, with fear, just dived into the river, and that was all."

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The teacher said Elijah was born in 2006 and has four other siblings - two boys and two girls. He said Elija wanted to be a soldier.

JSS3 students drown after writing junior WAEC

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some JSS3 students had drowned after writing their junior WAEC exams.

The victims, all students of Government Secondary School Fadan Chawai, were identified as Manasseh Monday (16), Musa John (16), Pius David (15), Monday Ayuba (16), David Danlami (19), and Yahuza Audu (16). Pastor Simon Ishaku, the National Public Relations Officer of Ribang Development Association, confirmed the incident on Wednesday, June 26.

Ishaku revealed that three bodies have been recovered and buried amid tears, while three others remain missing as locals continue their search efforts. When reached, the Zonal Coordinator of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency Zone One, Mubarak Muhammad, stated that he would verify the incident and follow up with our correspondent.

Source: Legit.ng