Two persons were yesterday crushed to death in an accident involving an Iveco truck with registration number SRA 757 XA and a Bajaj motorcycle opposite Egba High School, Obantoko Road, Abeokuta in Ogun State.
Mr. Babatunde Akinbiyi, the spokesperson, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta. Akinbiyi explained that the accident was caused by wrongful overtaking by the motorcycle rider. He noted that five persons were involved in the accident but two, who were passengers on the motorcycle, died on the spot.
An eyewitness confirmed that the motorcyclist overtook wrongly and rammed into a moving truck. The motorcycle and the truck were moving outward Obantoko towards Moore junction. The truck driver, in an attempt to avoid a pothole, swerved to the left, not knowing that the okada rider was fast approaching from the rear before it rammed into the truck.
“The driver of the truck, his conductor and the okada rider ran away but the two passengers on the motorcycle died. The truck and the motorcycle have been taken to the Divisional Police Station, Obantoko,” he said.
Akinbiyi noted that the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the morgue of General Hospital, Ijaye in Abeokuta.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian military has confirmed the eruption of violent clash between troops and youths in Gurin, Fufore local government area of Adamawa State. Brigadier General G.S. Mohammed, Brigade Commander of 23 brigade Yola, confirmed the clash to newsmen but could not state the number of casualties.
Reports, however, indicate that two people were shot dead by the soldiers, while six others sustained fatal gunfire wounds. Adamu Jauro Komboje, a resident of Gurin said many youths took to the streets to protest against military harassment and selective enforcement of the ban on the use of motorcycles.
He said: “Actually, the frustration has been building, but yesterday the soldiers tried to seize a particular young man’s motorcycle but he resisted. This is because they (soldiers) will impound your motorbike, only for you to later see them riding it or being used by their errand boys. If you say there’s a ban on the use of motorcycles, then our understanding is that no one, not even the soldiers should be riding it.
“This morning the soldiers stormed the motor park area, beat up people randomly, one Sani Sakatare was beaten to stupor; I believe this was what triggered the protest. It was not too long when we heard that two people were shot dead in the ensuing violence, but as of now, there’s security reinforcement in Gurin and everywhere is calm for now.
But the commander blamed the youths for flouting the ban and also resisting its enforcement. “The ban on the use of motorcycles in the state is in force and we have been making concerted efforts to enforce it. But in some of the communities, youths always resist arrest for flouting the ban. In fact, recently in Ganye, there was violent action by the youths there who defaulted and were resisting arrest by mobilising against the troops and even the police.
“This incident that just happened, they threw stones and even broke a military vehicle; the youths were very violent. We have the rules of engagement whereby a crowd turns violent and attempts to overrun or take over the arms of the security agents, we would respond in self-defence, and that is what happened this morning.”
THE GUARDIAN
