A street campaign procession organised by the All Progressives Congress, APC, in support of its governorship candidate for the August 15 election in Osun State ended in tragedy on Wednesday after a truck rammed into participants in Ede, leaving one person dead and seven others injured.
The deceased was identified as AbdulRasaq Ahmed, while the injured victims were taken to hospitals for medical treatment following the incident, which occurred near the Oke Gada area of the town.
According to officials of the APC campaign organisation, the procession was part of mobilisation activities for the party’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, when the accident occurred.
Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji Campaign Committee, Remi Omowaiye, confirmed the casualty figures and said those injured were receiving treatment.
“One person was killed in the accident. Seven others were injured, but one out of the seven was critically injured,” Omowaiye said.
An eyewitness, who requested anonymity, said traffic management measures had been put in place before the incident and called for a full investigation into what led to the crash.
The witness alleged that officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had directed vehicles to use one lane of the road while campaign participants occupied the other lane.
“It was a sad incident and one which could have been avoided. The coordinator of the Federal Road Safety Corps had earlier directed that vehicles should use one lane of the road while APC members used the other lane,” the eyewitness said.
The witness further claimed that the truck entered the lane being used by the campaign supporters and struck members of the procession.
“However, the truck driver drove through the lane we were walking on and rammed into the crowd. The boy was killed in the process, while many got injured and are receiving treatment at the hospital,” he added.
Following the incident, the running mate to the APC governorship candidate, Benjamin Adereti, visited the family of the deceased and expressed condolences over the loss.
Adereti also urged security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, saying, “I want to call on the security agencies in Osun and Nigeria to carry out a thorough investigation into the immediate and remote causes of this incident. We are still trying to unravel the reason behind this.
“I commiserate with the family of AbdulRasaq Ahmed over this unfortunate incident. May God console the family. We all know the pain of losing a child,” he added.
Osun APC campaign train turns deadly as truck kills one, leaves seven injured
