Years after tragic boating mishap, Kaduna resort in ruins

Unlike previous years, the main entrance to the Trappco Resort, Kaduna, now sends a message to a visitor that all is not well. The gate, constructed with thatch for a rustic look, is in tatters with the straw used in making it all scattered. The red bricks that were used in constructing the main entrance […]

Unlike previous years, the main entrance to the Trappco Resort, Kaduna, now sends a message to a visitor that all is not well. The gate, constructed with thatch for a rustic look, is in tatters with the straw used in making it all scattered. The red bricks that were used in constructing the main entrance are begging for attention. Once manned by many security personnel during the peak years, the gate is now at the mercy of rats and other rodents.  A first-time visitor would require some amount of courage before daring to proceed through the main gate, no thanks to the silence – and ruined looks – that characterise the whole area.

The predicament of the resort began on Saturday, May 14, 2005, when some students of Abuja Capital Science Academy for Gifted Children visited the resort on excursion. Eight of the students died when the boat they were in capsized. Their deaths sparked a media frenzy, soon recognized as a national tragedy that was marked by the dramatic details, like the fact that two of them were siblings and the only children of their family. Reports at that time said the tragic events happened, largely, due to the negligence of the boat’s operator.

A source told Weekly Trust that about 35 students had on that day prepared to go boating at the lake as part of their activities and the boat operator had gone around the lake with four batches. “It was the fifth and the last batch that was involved in the accident, after the boat ran out of diesel,” the source added. “After the boat had stopped, some of the students panicked and jumped into the lake, not knowing that a lake is quite different from a swimming pool.” He also narrated how the student who died saving his sister was not even on the boat. “He was riding a horse by the edge of the lake when he spotted his sister gasping for breath,” he said, adding that the student jumped into the lake, perishing alongside his sister.

The body of one of the deceased students spent days in the lake as all attempts by some local divers that were drafted to look for the body failed to yield any result. It took the intervention of some American divers before the body was recovered. “The owner of the resort footed all the bills. The boat operator was sent to prison because it was his negligence that caused the accident,” the source said.

The incident led to a government order instructing the closure of the resort. The bereaved parents later sued the Abuja Capital Science Academy to Court and in return the school sued the resort. The case, according to our source, was recently concluded as the court ruled that the death of the students was an accident.

Trappco Resort, resembling a ghost town, is haunted by a few real visitors, though. Some golfers could be seen on its unkempt greens and some local teens could be seen scampering about in chase of an old football.

The area housing the resort’s chalets, children’s playing ground and the swimming pool, two picnickers, a male and a female, were seen relaxing under the tree shades that dot the area seemingly oblivious of the tatty surroundings.

When contacted for comment, the person in charge of the resort, Irene Longpuan, referred Weekly Trust to the resort’s director, Suleiman Abubakar, whose phone rang without being answered. Text messages were also not returned.

Trappco Resort is located at Gwaza Aviation Village, which is a few kilometres away from the Kaduna International Airport, whose proximity to the resort and serene surroundings helped the popularity of the establishment. The range of activities that the resort offered its guests was another factor, making it very popular with children.

Trappco Resort appears to have become history now, as its management, as investigations revealed, has cut the size of the resort’s workforce from 60 staff to about 20. It was gathered that the director of the resort now pays salaries of staff from his own pockets. While many people are hoping that one day the resort would bounce back, only time will tell if it will.