One
of the victims of last Wednesday accident at U-turn Bus Stop, on the
Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Mr. Olumuyiwa Adebambo, was buried on Friday
amid tears and eulogies.
Adebambo died on November 13 2013, after
he was hit by a truck. Eyewitnesses alleged that the truck had run into
pedestrians at the bus stop while trying to avoid Kwara State
Governor’s wife’s convoy, which had recklessly entered the expressway
from a side road without watching for oncoming vehicles.
Many of his relatives and friends, who
could not hide their sorrow, insisted that the convoy of the wife of
Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, caused the accident that led
to Adebambo’s death.
They also said it was improper for the governor’s wife not to have waited after the accident happened.
Apart from his friends and relatives,
those who attended his burial were members of his church, the less
privileged children under his care and his schoolmates. No government
official was present at the burial, which took place at the Atan
Cemetry, Yaba, Lagos State.
It was learnt that children with
disabilities’ at the Lagos Cheshire Home and Services, where Adebambo
worked, embarked on hunger strike when they learnt of his death.
Our correspondent gathered that
Adebambo, 34, who studied Business Administration at the University of
Ado-Ekiti, was the administrative/accounting officer of LCHS – a place
where less privileged and people with disabilities are taken care of.
The deceased friend, who witnessed the
accident, Mr. Adetifa Olushola, said the siren blown by the convoy and
the reckless driving confused the truck driver that hit Adebambo.
He said, “We were going that day when we
heard sirens. And I told him (Adebambo) that I thought Lagos State
Government had stopped the usage of sirens. That was what we were still
discussing when I heard a noise.
“By the time I saw what was happening,
the tipper was already close to us. How I managed to survive, I don’t
know. The tipper, however, knocked down a woman (Mrs. Victoria Adeoye)
and my friend.”
He explained that Adebambo died due to shortage of blood, adding that attempts to get his blood group proved abortive.
He added, “I took him to the hospital.
When we got there, I was told that he has lost blood and that I should
go and get blood for him at a laboratory not far from the hospital. When
I got to the laboratory, they said the blood was scarce – it was
O-negative or something.
“They directed me to another laboratory
and it was the same story there too. I went back to the hospital to
explain the situation of things to the doctor. When I got there, the
doctor said the Lagos State Ambulance had taken him to a general
hospital, where he finally died.”
One of the physically challenged persons
in Adebambo’s care, Temitope Akinyele, lamented that his death might
affect her educational career.
Akinyele, who is a Senior Secondary
School three pupil of State Senior Grammar School, said, “He was the one
that helped me to register for GCE. Whenever I had any challenge in my
education or anything, I had always gone to him. It is a big loss not
only to me but to my mates. Every one of us (the physically challenged
children) cannot still believe that he is dead.”
Public Relations Officer of Lagos
Cheshire Home and Services, Mrs. Adeola Olanrewaju, described Adebambo
as a “sacrificial lamb”.
She said when the less privileged children heard of Adebambo’s death, they refused to eat.
She added, “The incident was very
painful and sorrowful to the children. He took them like his biological
brothers and sisters. For a few days the children refused to eat and
went on hunger strike.”
Olarenwaju, who is also a relative of
the deceased, advocated that the use of siren should be stopped, saying
it had become a tool for the “massacre” of the masses.
She said, “I just want them to put a
stop to use of siren. Adebambo and others, who have lost their lives to
the incessant and reckless driving by convoys, are sacrificial lambs.”
Treasurer of the Lagos Cheshire Home and
Services, Mrs. Adegoke Kate, believed that Adebambo would have survived
the accident “if the first lady of Kwara State had escorted” the
victims to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the family of the second
victim, Mrs. Victoria Abidoye, has petitioned the Lagos State Governor,
Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar
Manko, over Victoria’s death.
The petition, dated November 20, 2013,
by Global Legal Solicitors, also claimed that Victoria was denied
medical attention at Hamkad Hospital when she was rushed there after the
accident.
It read, “This firm acts for the family
of late Michael Adeoye, who retired as Deputy Controller of Immigration
Service. The now late Mrs. Victoria Adeoye (the victim) of Plot 1,
Jibowu Estate, U-turn Bus stop, Abule Egba, Lagos was until her tragic
and avoidable death, wife to Mr. Michael Adeoye.
“Victoria was unlawfully and painfully
killed by the tipper trailer that suddenly veered off the Lagos-Abeokuta
Expressway, a Trunk C Road in order to avoid hitting a seven car convoy
belonging to the Kwara State Government that recklessly drove into the
expressway from a side street, Risikat Majaro, U-turn Bus Stop, Abule
Egba, Lagos.”
The petition further claimed that the
Kwara State convoy did not wait to see the consequences of its actions.
It also added that Hamkad Hospital had refused for no reason, to attend
to Victoria when she was rushed there after the accident.
“This in itself among other facts that
the said Hamkad Hospital refused to disclose the identity of its visitor
convoy, clearly indicates complicity in this matter. Victoria
eventually died in a pool of blood at the General Hospital, Ile Epo, Oke
Odo area of Lagos State.
“It is important to state clearly that
the accident was not caused by brake failure of the said tipper trailer
since eyewitnesses confirmed that the tipper trailer driver parked the
vehicle some meters from the scene of the accident before fleeing for
fear of lynching.
“The Divisional Police Officer of Oke
Odo Police Division was at the scene of the accident and he ordered his
men to drive the vehicle to the station. We therefore resist any attempt
by the Kwara State Government or any authorities placing the
consequences of the recklessness of the convoy on the poor tipper driver
alone,” the petition added.
The family demanded the arrest and
prosecution of the persons who drove the Kwara State convoy and the
tipper trailer and an independent investigation by the Vehicle
Inspection Office into the cause of the accident.
The petition continued, “The
representatives of the victim’s family should be carried along
throughout the investigation to ensure that justice is not misplaced.
“The wife of Kwara State Governor,
Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, should immediately take full responsibility of both
the reckless driving of her convoy and the eventual death of the victim.
The management of Hamkad Hospital which refused to treat the victim for
no justifiable reason should be treated as accessories to the offence
of manslaughter of the victim.”
The telephone of the Administration
Manager of Hamkad hospital, Mr. Fajobi, rang out, while a text message
was also not replied to as of press time.
However, spokesman for the Kwara Sate
Governor, Mr. Muyideen Akorede, said, “The Kwara State Governor’s wife,
wishes to once again, commiserate with the family of the deceased
victim. She is touched by the death of any Nigerian even though she was
not involved in the cause of death.
“She welcomes the development that
Governor Fashola and Mr. Manko have been approached to investigate the
accident and once again, maintains that she was not the cause of the
accident that day. We are happy that the police have been invited to
investigate the matter and come up with its report.
“She also invites whoever that is accussing her to produce a police report to that effect.”
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