Iroko tree kills boy, 22

Tragedy struck in the early hours of Monday when an Iroko tree fell on a bungalow at Umueze Village, Amawbia near Awka in Anambra State, killing a 22-year-old boy, Ikenna Anatuogu.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the tree fell following a heavy storm that lasted for several hours between Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday.According to an eyewitness, the tree fell on Anatuogus legs while he was asleep in one of the rooms in the building.The eyewitness said that the boy died while efforts were being made to cut the tree with a saw.Governor Peter Obi, Mrs Josephine Anenih, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development and former Minister of Information and Communications, Professor  Dora Akunyili, were among those who came to console the family.Obi, who described the incident as a tragedy, said it was unfortunate that the young man died that way.``This is to tell the communities to be careful of such overgrown trees around them; they should ensure that such trees are cut down before they cause havoc, Obi said.NAN gathered that the Iroko tree had been turned into a shrine and that efforts to cut it down in the past were resisted by the residents.A former President-General of Amawbia, Chief Joseph Okonkwo, however, debunked the report, saying that the area where the tree was located was being used as a play ground.
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