Mother And Daughter Die In Car Accident, Both Buried On The Day The Daughter Was Supposed To Wed In Bauchi
23 year
old Victoria Hallan and her 50 year old mother, Naomi perished in a
Fatal accident that occurred along the Jalingo-Bauchi expressway on
October 12th, just four days to her wedding slated for October 15th.
Victoria, her mother and friend Roseline were heading to Bauchi state to
put finishing touches to her wedding when the vehicle they were
commuting in suffered a burst tyre.
Victoria's
mother and friend died on the spot while Victoria was unconscious and
was rushed to the hospital where according to her father, Hallan Bawah,
nurses at the Cottage Hospital in Bambam, Gombe State, refused to treat
her because they did not know who would pay for her treatment. Few hours
later, Victoria died. Both mother and daughter were laid to rest on
Saturday October 15th which was meant to be her wedding day. Read the
sad story below..
The
death of Victoria Hallan, an indigene of Toro Local Government Area of
Bauchi State in an auto accident on Wednesday October 12, 2016, just
four days to her wedding has turned the mood of her family and friends
from rejoicing and singing to deep mourning and sober reflection on the
uncertainty of life.
The
sadness that enveloped the atmosphere following the news of Victoria’s
death swings from anguish to a state of despair as it was learnt that
she died along with her beloved mother in the ill-fated bus that was
conveying them from Jalingo in Taraba State to Bauchi to put finishing
touches to her wedding preparations.
Victoria,
a National Diploma graduate in Science Laboratory Technology from the
Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, according to her friends who spoke fondly of
her, was a beautiful person inside and outside.
She had a pointed nose, a big charming smile, elegance, carriage, and captivating eyes, they toldSaturday Sun.
She graduated in 2015 after which she and her fiancé, Aminchi David,
34, agreed to tie the nuptial knots. They fixed Saturday October 15,
2016 for their wedding in Bauchi. Before that, Victoria’s send forth was
slated for Sunday October 9 at Sabon Gari in Jalingo. “I can’t believe
that my jewel is gone,” Aminchi decked in his blue wedding suit with
his best man Armstrong decked in suit with same colour and suit, told Saturday Sun after Victoria’s funeral, as he fought back tears.
“She
was a paragon of beauty. I can’t believe she is dead. She was so kind
and organised. It is so painful,” Aminchi counted his loss.
Friends
recalled that the late Victoria, 24 and her mother, Naomi, 50 cut a
picture of happiness during the send forth. As other family members and
friends shared in their happiness, there was no premonition that mother
and daughter were destined to die same day and place in one of the most
painful deaths one can imagine.
“She
was enjoying one of the happiest days of her life,” one of her blossom
friends told our correspondent of Victoria’s disposition during the send
forth. Sadly, it was to be Victoria’s last happy moment in life as
death came calling after the ceremony
“It
is painful,” the friend broke down and cried profusely. “She looked
ravishing in her yellow colour lace with blue headgear to match.
Victoria was gap-toothed and when she smiled it was so beautiful,” said
her childhood friend who has not stopped crying.
“Victoria’s
chief bridesmaid Joan Joshua fell ill when the news reached her that
her best friend had died in a motor accident,” Armstrong said.
After
four years of courtship, the intending couple agreed for the wedding to
take place at COCIN church in Tudun Maizamani on Bayara road in Bauchi
metropolis.
Send
forth ceremonies are significant part of the marriage process in
northern Nigeria, particularly among Christians. The event is usually
brief. While some fix it in the evening, others prefer to have it done
at night. Victoria’s own was done after church service in the
afternoon. Prayers and gifts were showered on her. Pieces of advice on
how to build her matrimonial home and enjoy the union came handy from
older family members and friends.
Victoria’s
send forth was an opportunity for her childhood friends to get together
to rejoice before she would travel to Bauchi to be joined in matrimony
with her fiancé in church.
Her
father ASP Hallan Bawah and Naomi, his wife of 29 years, were there to
support their daughter. Her elder brother and firstborn who worked in
Jigawa State was always there to support while Rejoice, her immediate
younger sister and a split image of Victoria was in Bauchi putting
finishing touches to preparations. While Rejoice stayed back in Bauchi
to help coordinate the wedding plans, Victoria’s chief bridesmade Joan
travelled with the bride to Jalingo. Joan and others who attended from
Bauchi leftMonday morning while Victoria, her mother and Blessing, Rejoice’s friend planned to leave Jalingo on Wednesday. That fateful morning of October 13, Victoria and her mother departed Taraba for Bauchi for the wedding on Saturday. Those coming from far had embarked on the journey to Bauchi for the wedding.
Hallan
said after the send forth, he watched as his wife and daughter left the
house in Sabodn Gari Jalingo on their way to Bauchi. He said: “I was
with them till they left. They boarded a commercial bus around 3:00 that
afternoon. After some hours I was expecting that they have reached
Bauchi. I called my wife but the line was not going. Later I called my
daughter’s number and a Federal Road Safety official picked and
introduced himself. When I inquired why my wife or daughter could not
pick the calls he told me that they were involved in a fatal accident.
He
told me that two women and a man died on the spot. He told me the place
and I told him I was coming” Hallan said he left Jalingo by 4pm and
when he got to the scene he was told that the victims had been admitted
at the Cottage Hospital in Bambam, Gombe State. He learnt that the
accident was as a result of a burst tyre.
“When
I got there I met my wife she was already dead,” he recalled. He
struggled to stop himself from breaking down, he was anxious to see
his daughter and prayed nothing bad happened to her.
The
grieving Hallan said: “When I saw her, she was unconscious. Her hand
was broken. There was no treatment being carried out on her. I asked the
staff of the hospital why they abandoned my daughter like that and
their reply was if they treat her they were not sure whether the money
would be paid. This broke my heart. How can someone’s life be so cheap. I
was crying to know that my daughter could have been saved and yet they
refused to save her life because of money”
He
said that the officials of the NURTW went to get ambulance that would
rush my daughter to the Federal Medical Centre in Gombe for proper
medical attention but before they could return his daughter had given up
the ghost.
“Another
girl who was a friend of my second daughter, Rejoice also died in the
accident. Her name was Blessing. She was accompanying my daughter and
wife and so they travelled together. Blessing also died on the spot.”
David, the groom to be was feeling on top of the world on that Wednesday morning, when he received a phone call from Victoria. “I had gone to Kafin Madaki around 6am and was returning to Bauchi when I received her call at past 8am that they had left Jalingo.
“She
asked me where I was and I told her I was in Kafin Madaki in Ganjuwa
and she was surprised and asked me what took me there but I laughed and I
told her I went to see my aunt and she replied that she was on her way.
I was expecting her call around 2pm. I tried her number but it was switched off.
“I became worried and told a friend Bami that her phone was switched off and it was unusual. By 3:30pm,
her younger sister Rejoice called me and informed me that she heard
that Victoria and their mother were involved in an accident. That her
friend Blessing was also with them
“I
then called their father who told me that he heard and that he was
already on his way to the place that the accident happened. It was
Bambam in Gombe State. I called my sister who lived there with her
husband. She later confirmed that my Victoria and her mother and
Blessing had indeed died”
David said he doesn’t know how to live with the loss of Victoria.
“She
was everything to me. She was beautiful, kind, God-fearing. Her death
is a great loss to myelife. When my father in law told me what happened
on phone, I said I am finished. But I give God the glory. In life you
plan but God knows everything. I am still seeing everything as if it is a
joke. That Vicky my love will be with me. That is why I am wearing my
blue wedding suit. Blue is Victoria’s favourite colour. She chose blue
as our colour and I am honouring her today by wearing it. I try not to
be sad but it is going to be alright”
The
funeral of Victoria and her mother on Saturday October 15, 2016 at the
Christian Cemetery in Kagadam, Bauchi attracted a large crowd of
Sympathisers. As the bodies were lowered into mother earth, the preacher
urged everyone present to live a life of service to God and humanity.
