Fresh facts emerge over Ekiti trailer accident, Fayemi reacts

Fresh facts have emerged over the trailer accident that occurred on Saturday night in Iworoko, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, killing several persons.

The truck, conveying bags of rice belonging to a politician, suddenly lost control at about 8:45 pm on Saturday night and rammed into a market at the centre of the town.

In the ensuing tragedy, it crushed three shops and a commercial small bus, which had some passengers. One of the shops, a barbing saloon, has residents and students charging their cell phones inside it. They were all trapped in the accident.

Among the victims were students of the Ekiti State University, a corps member, residents, traders in the area and a mother and child.

Our reporter observed that the on going strike action by the Academic Union of Universities, (ASUU), was said to have prevented many more students of the EKSU from falling victim of the tragic incident as they claimed that the market where the truck ran into used to be crowded with many students when the school is open.

When our correspondent visited the scene of the accident on Sunday morning, a huge crowd of sympathisers had besieged the scene with some wailing.

The trailer had crushed a small commercial vehicle called ‘Akoto’. Bags of rice, some of which had posters of a senatorial candidate of the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC), Tayo Alasoadura, littered the scene.

The angry mob chased away a towing truck of the state’s transport office, saying that it had come too late to rescue the victims.

They stoned the vehicle, forcing the driver to drive off. They also made attempt to chase away the advance security team of the deputy governor but were intimidated by a presence of heavily armed security operatives who later came to bring the deputy governor to the scene.

Speaking with the chiefs and angry youths of the community, the Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi, who represented the Governor of the state, Kayode Fayemi said: “The state governor condoles with families of those who have lost dear ones. We pray for their souls to rest on peace. Government will also ensure that those who were wounded have their hospital bills paid for. We will also take care of other things.

“However, we appeal to our youths to calm down and not cause trouble. No one wishes for this kind of tragedy to happen. And no amount of anger and violence will bring back those dead. So let us be calm, ” he said.

Egbeyemi, who also visited the Ekiti State University Teaching hospital along Adebayo area of the state capital, where the bodies of the dead and others wounded were taken to, told the doctors to begin urgent treatment of the wounded, assuring them that the bills would be paid by the state government.

The hospital management told newsmen that 12 bodies of those who lost their lives in the accident, including students of EKSU have been deposits at the state morgue while four wounded victims of the accident are receiving treatment in the hospital.