Victoria aged 63, died shortly after she
was hit by a truck which was trying to avoid crashing into the convoy,
said to be returning from a visit to Hamkad Hospital.
Eyewitnesses had said the convoy drove
recklessly into the expressway from a side road without stopping to
check for oncoming vehicles.
A second victim, who has been identified
as Mr. Adebambo Olumuyiwa, an employee of Lagos Cheshire Homes and
Services, was said to have died about an hour after the accident at the
Ile Epo General Hospital.
Victoria’s eldest son, Dr. Olusegun told PUNCH Metro that the family had learned that Ahmed had gone to Hamkad Hospital to visit a popular Fuji musician, Kollington Ayinla.
He said, “We were informed by some
persons within our community that the convoy, which caused the accident,
belonged to the wife of Kwara State Governor.
“They said she had gone to see Kollington at the hospital. We learnt that he was admitted at the hospital for an ailment.
“In fact, we were told that after the
accident, Kollington was quickly moved from the hospital to another
location at Iyana Ipaja.”
When PUNCH Metro contacted Kollington on the telephone, he denied the allegations.
He said, “Are you asking if I was ill
last week or a month and a half ago? I am not ill and certainly not
hospitalised. As I speak with you, I am in my house. I even had a gig
last Saturday at Osogbo. So I was not at that hospital you are talking
about.”
Ahmed also denied that her convoy caused
any accident in Lagos, adding that the convoy narrowly escaped from the
accident rather than causing it.
A statement from the former Senior
Special Assistant to the State Governor on Media and Communication, Dr.
Muideen Akorede, added that the accident, therefore, had nothing to do
with the wife of the Kwara State Governor.
Akorede said, “I have been reliably briefed by several people in the convoy, including the wife of the governor.
“The facts indicate that Mrs. Ahmed’s convoy narrowly escaped from the accident rather than causing it.
“On the said day, Mrs. Ahmed was
returning from visiting someone in a hospital within the vicinity, when
her convoy narrowly escaped being hit by a tipper-truck, having left the
scene of the accident seconds earlier by choice of providence.
“The reported accident, tragic as it is,
therefore had nothing to do with Mrs. Ahmed or her convoy. However, any
loss of life is tragic and sad no matter the cause.
“Furthermore, Mrs. Ahmed was unaware of
what happened until she got to Ilorin and was told about the
near-mishap. As a kind-hearted person, she would have offered assistance
if she had been aware of the incident at the time. We only got an
inkling of the alleged casualty from the accident following a newspaper
report the following day, which, however, did not mention her or her
convoy.
“It is also untrue that the tipper-truck
in question reportedly ran into by-standers in a bid to avoid a
collision with Mrs. Ahmed’s convoy.
“All drivers in the convoy have a standing order to avoid over-speeding and to always comply with traffic rules.”
Olusegun, however, faulted Akorede’s statement.
He said, “Even if Mrs. Ahmed wasn’t the
cause of the accident, what is her moral obligation as a leader since
she was at the scene? Her account of the day’s events is different from
eyewitnesses’ accounts.
“These are people that the electorates
put in the office and when they get there, they act as if they are
invincible. The fact is that her convoy drove recklessly into the
expressway and caused the accident that killed my mother. Why did she go
to such length to hide the identity of the convoy when she heard of the
accident? Why did they move Kollington to another hospital?
“To make matters worse, the police are
saying that the convoy cannot be prosecuted, only the driver of the
truck. I am not after vengeance. All I want is for people to take
responsibility for their actions. The driver and owner of the truck that
the police had initially claimed could not be found eventually surfaced
at my house when their identities were published. Everyone has been
trying to bury this incident because of the personality involved.”
Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro learnt
that while plans are underway to bury Victoria on the second week of
December, Olumuyiwa is expected to be buried at the Atan Cemetry, Yaba
on Friday.
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