Three Lagos Cops Returning From Edo Election, Die In Crash

September 28, 2020.

Not fewer than three policemen lost their lives in a crash that occurred on the Benin-Ore Expressway in Ondo State while returning from a national assignment in Edo State.

Ekohotblog gathered that the policemen were on their way home following the conclusion of the governorship election in Edo State when the vehicle conveying them and their colleagues to Lagos State, was involved in an accident in Ore, Ondo State.

A police officer, who did not want his name mentioned, made this known to newsmen in Benin.

According to the policeman, some of his colleagues survived the accident, with some sustaining varying degrees of injuries and the corpses of the three policemen have been recovered from the scene of the accident.

The corpses were said to have been deposited in the Ore General Hospital’s mortuary.

Report had it that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, on Sunday, September 13, deployed 1,000 policemen to complement the personnel deployed in Edo State by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

The Respondent further explained that one of the victims was Corporal Oluwafemi Adeyanju, an indigene of Ondo State, where the accident occurred. The other two policemen were inspectors. I was also deployed in Edo State for the election and we had completed the national assignment in Edo State, he stated.

Another policeman, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told PUNCH Metro that the government abandoned them after completing their assignment in Edo State, and that all the policemen deployed in the state for the election had to find their way back home by themselves.

He said, “We left the command headquarters around 2pm on Sunday, September 13 and spent a week before the election on Saturday, September 19, 2020, and we returned on Sunday. It was the Federal Government that was responsible for our transportation to Edo State, but we were abandoned after the completion of the assignment and had to return to base by ourselves.

“I paid my transport fare back home, because I couldn’t remain in Edo State and I thank God that I travelled for the assignment and returned home safely. It was not a small journey; out of the 1,000 policemen deployed in Edo State, only three could not make it back home and some others got injured. The police authorities should find a way to honour their sacrifice while serving the nation.”

Adeyanju, popularly known as Two Sure, was said to be 35-year-old and was reportedly survived by his wife, children, sisters and aged father.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said he would get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report despite repeated calls and a text message sent to his mobile telephone line.

Domole Ifeoma