Yesterday, there was a commotion in Ilorin, Kwara State, when four people were thought dead and numerous more injured following an accident involving a car driven by inmates to court and owned by the Nigerian Prisons Services (NPS).
Yet, according to prison officials, no lives were lost in the accident.
Our correspondent learned that the car’s driver, who allegedly went against the flow of traffic, also murdered a motorcycle by crushing him while fleeing a throng on Niger Road.
According to sources, if the prison’s armed guards hadn’t fired sporadically, the enraged mob would have set the car on fire and lynched the personnel.
Under the condition of anonymity, a local citizen claimed that the irate mob that was enraged by the accident attacked and vandalized the bus that was accompanying the inmates’ car to court.
Adding that the accident sparked a protest by a group of riders of commercial motorcycles known as okada in the Ilorin metropolis, he pointed out that the van transporting the prisoners successfully fled the scene of the accident and arrived at its destination.
Speaking to reporters about the event, AbdulAkeem Sulaiman, the state’s Zonal Spokesman for the Motorcycle Riders Association, pleaded with the administration to provide justice for their constituents.
According to him, people who were crushed in the disaster were looking for work to support their families.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said normalcy has been restored in the areas where the protest took place.
He, however, said: “We have not recorded any death.”
He said the police would take necessary steps to ensure justice is done for those affected in the incident.
Also, the state NCoS Public Relations Officer, Philip Adegbulugbe, claimed that the suspected hoodlums attempted to free high-profile inmates who were conveyed to court in the area which resulted in pandemonium.
Ajayi Okasanmi said normalcy has been restored at the areas where the protest took place.
He, however, said: “We have not recorded any death.”
He said the police would take necessary steps to ensure justice is done to those affected by the incident.
The personnel of the Correctional Service were able to manoeuvre their way to the court.
However, those who sustained injuries have been moved to the hospital for medical attention and are responding to treatment and no lives were lost.
