Olushola Omogbehin
Wednesday was a sad day in the university community of Akungba-Akoko, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State as a pregnant mother and her child lost their lives alongside six others in a fatal road accident that occurred involving a cement-laden truck.
The accident, which occurred in the evening near the Holy Trinity Church, threw the entire town into chaos as residents and students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA) rushed to the scene.
Eyewitnesses report that the crash which involved a truck claiming to belong to Dangote Cement coming from Obajana in Kogi State, lost control and rammed into several roadside shops along the Owo–Akungba–Ikare Expressway.
Angered by the incident, sympathisers blamed the accident on the removal of the barricade earlier mounted to prevent articulated vehicles from accessing the community so as not to bring back painful memories of previous accidents in the area.
One of the sources revealed that, “Some boys in the community had been using the barricade erected to extort N10,000 from the truck drivers before allowing them to pass through which government turned blind eyes.”
While confirming the incident, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ondo State, Mr. Samuel Ibitoye, said the truck lost control after hitting a barricade in front of the university.
“The truck ran into a barricade and lost control, resulting in the crash. No fewer than eight people were killed, comprising five males, two females, and one male child,” Ibitoye said
The Public Relations Officer of the AAUA Students’ Union Government, Akinibobola Ajidagba, said the crash was heartbreaking and urged for urgent government intervention.
“We regret to inform the entire student populace that an articulated vehicle belonging to Dangote Cement suffered brake failure from Ikare en route to Akungba and destroyed the permanent barricade erected at the university’s main gate and close to 10 people have lost their lives in this tragic incident,” he said.
