The Kogi Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Commission has blamed the auto crash that led to the death, on Tuesday, of Prof Festus Iyayi, on wrongful overtaking by a vehicle in the convoy of Kogi state governor, Idris Wada.
The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the Kogi state commander of the FRSC, Olakunle Motajo, as saying preliminary report by his commission suggested the accident was caused by a Toyota Hilux bus in Mr. Wada’s convoy.
The vehicle, Mr. Motajo said, made “wrongful overtaking”, ramming into another Toyota Hiace bus belonging to the UNIBEN ASUU chapter in which Mr. Iyayi and two others were travelling in the opposite direction.
Some residents of Banda community, who witnessed the accident, said the two vehicles collided and the ASUU bus somersaulted three times before hitting a big tree in the bush.
Mr. Iyayi died instantly while two others, including a woman, who sustained fracture in her left arm, were injured. The driver of the bus escaped unhurt, Mr. Motajo said.
NAN reports that seven policemen in the vehicle in the motorcade also sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at the Government House Clinic in Lokoja.
Mr. Iyayi was travelling to Kano for the National Executive Committee meeting of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) scheduled for Wednesday (today) when the accident occurred at about 11:45 a.m., union officials said.
But the Special Adviser to the Governor, Jacob Edi, had on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that Mr. Wada’s convoy caused the accident.
“There was a collision on a narrow road and it is too early to say who rammed into who,” Mr. Edi told PREMIUM TIMES. ”The ASUU car was dodging a trailer and an accident occurred. It is not fair to politicise this incident.”
He said his boss’ convoy travels at 80 km per hour.
This is the second time Mr. Wada’s convoy would be involved in deadly accident in less than a year.
On December 28, 2012, the governor’s motorcade was involved in a crash that the auto crash that broke Mr. Wada’s leg, killed his security aide and injured two other state officials.
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