Nigerian boy who went viral for outstanding WAEC results dies suddenly

Elijah Kelechi, a young Nigerian student whose exceptional WAEC results recently went viral, has tragically passed away.

The promising student had just completed his 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) when he met his untimely death.

The heartbreaking news was shared on August 19 by Elijah’s older brother, Jacob Joseph John, who posted both the tragic announcement and Elijah’s remarkable WASSCE results on Facebook.

John shared his sorrow in a heartfelt post. He wrote:

“Remain relaxed, my younger sibling.

“We’ve released your WAEC result.

“You succeeded.”

Elijah, who was born in 2006, tragically perished on July 12 in the Imo River in Abia State. John claims that Elijah and the other four people were returning from the river when the catastrophe happened.

As they navigated the waters, they encountered military personnel involved in anti-bunkering operations, which caused panic among the group.

While some of the boys managed to swim to safety, Elijah, who couldn’t swim, tragically drowned.

Recalling the events 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.”