A 24-year-old student named Idowu Pelumi David, who studied at Gateway ICT Polytechnic Saapade, passed away after being hit by a driver who didn’t stop in Ogun State.
Reports say David, a first-year Public Administration student at the Ayepe campus, died along with 22-year-old Hassan Ariyo, the motorcyclist taking him to his destination.
The Ogun State Police spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, told DAILY POST on Wednesday that
the car lost control and hit the motorcycle, causing both riders to fall and suffer severe head injuries.
Odutola mentioned they are trying to catch the driver who ran away, and they have taken pictures and sketches for reference.
“On Monday around 2 pm, there was a serious accident at Sakura Division on Sagamu Ikenne Road. It involved a black Toyota Camry car and an unregistered Bajaj motorcycle driven by 22-year-old Hassan Ariyo from Ikenne, carrying 24-year-old Pelumi Ade, a student at Sapade Gateway Polytechnic.
“Their bodies were taken to OOUTH Mortuary. The parents of the deceased, along with the Chairman of Odogbolu Local Government, have asked for the bodies for burial.
“Efforts are being made to catch the fleeing driver, and a sketch map and photographs have been taken,” she said.
However, student groups in the state plan to protest on Friday about the unfair death.
This was stated in a letter signed by the heads of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), and Progressive Student Movement in Abeokuta.
The letter reads: “Information we have shows that two youths died at the scene of an accident caused by a careless driver who ran away. Witnesses saw a grey Toyota Camry car, with registration number BDF590HE, driven suspiciously into the NYSC camp right after the accident.
“Later, the NYSC management initially denied the car entered their premises, which led to Nigerian students being mistreated by military personnel guarding the NYSC camp.
“But following a heated debate and intervention by top officials, the suspected car was brought out, newly washed, with a towel covering its number plate.”
They said the accident wasn’t a head-on crash, judging by the victims’ injuries.
The student unions, while appreciating the quick action of the Nigeria Police, were unhappy that the suspected car and driver are not yet in police custody.
“We also call for the immediate replacement of Mrs. Olayinka Diana Nasamu, the state coordinator of NYSC in Ogun State, for her lack of sympathy and careless attitude towards the deceased,” the letter added.
The student groups stated they will be “protesting at the NYSC State Secretariat over the death of our student, caused by a driver who drove into the NYSC premises and is said to be an NYSC staff.”
The protest, according to the letter, is set for Friday, July 12, 2024.