- * Four Policemen Allegedly Injured, Treated In Hospital, Discharged.
- Accident, A Minor One, No Fatality, Say Delta State Police, Works And Housing Ministry
By David Odama (In Abuja) and Catherine Okumagba (Delta State Correspondent)
The advance team of the convoy of the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola and his Labour and Employment counterpart, Christ Ngige, were involved in what was later described as a "minor" auto crash while on their way to the inspection of the Second Niger bridge still under construction.
The accident was said to have occurred on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, along the Asaba/Benin/Onitsha expressway when a police vehicle accompanying Gambari and the Minister's convoy was speeding to meet up with the fast-moving party and it lost control and speed off the road while negotiating a bend to the 2nd Niger bridge construction site location and crashed into a deep pit.
Initial conflicting account said four policemen in the vehicle were feared dead but subsequent report however said the four police sustained several degrees of injuries as the affected vehicle reportedly fell on them and they were shouting for help.
A driver, who spoke to journalists on account of anonymity, claimed, “The incident was very fatal", adding that "The driver carrying the policemen was speeding while negotiating the bend because of the speed and could not control the vehicle. They crashed into a deep pit. I was at the back of the convoy, driving slowly.
“With the help of other people, we rescued four of them but they were badly injured. They were shouting as the vehicle fell on them.”
However, when contacted for comments, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the Delta State, DSP Bright Edafe, said: “It was a minor accident involving one of the backup vehicles. It was a very minor accident not worth reporting. The backup vehicle veered into a ditch but no life was lost. It’s a minor accident as against what is being reported”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry Works and Housing have explained their side of the story of what happened in the reported auto mishap involving the convoy of the Presidential Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari and the Ministers of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola and his Labour and Employment colleague, Dr Chris Ngige.
The ministry, in a statement on Wednesday night the Special Adviser on Communications to the Minister of Works and Housing, Hakeem Bello, claimed that the accident was not fatal. He explained that it was actually one of the vehicles in the team of the Commissioner of Police from Anambra State that was involved in a crash during which two policemen sustained injuries.
The statement by Hakeem Bello reads: “Contrary to the sensational report making the rounds on the social media, the Team which also comprised the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, his Labour and Productivity counterpart, Dr. Chris Ngige and the Managing Director of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr Uche Orji on arrival at the Asaba Airport in Delta State visited the Interchange along Owerri-Onitsha Road and the East approach to the Bridge in Onitsha from where they walked across to the West approach.
“After a media briefing by members of the Team, the Chief of Staff was conducted to the West approach at Asaba and the Toll Plaza of the Bridge before returning to Abuja.
"It was discovered much later that one of the vehicles in the Team of the Commissioner of Police from Anambra State had a mishap during which two policemen sustained injuries. It was confirmed from the Nigeria Police, Anambra State Command that they were treated at the Federal Medical Centre Asaba and had since been discharged.
“The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN, following anxious calls from well-meaning members of the public about the safety of the members of the Federal Government delegation, expresses deep sympathies over the injured two men of the Anambra Police Command.
“However, no lives were lost at all as claimed in the false report by the online platform of a national daily.” NNL.
