The incident occurred at Ilupeju town, Ekiti state, southwest Nigeria.
An accident involving an articulated vehicle and a motorcycle on Friday morning killed a student of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and her elder brother who had just graduated from the school
The incident occurred at Ilupeju town, Ekiti state, southwest Nigeria.
One of them identified as Passion was popular as he was a graduate of the school and reportedly had a barbershop in Oye-Ekiti while his sister, Oyinkansola, was a 300-level Mass Communication student.
A student in the school told SaharaReporters that the truck involved in the accident belonged to the Dangote Group, founded by the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote.
“It is so sad, especially because I know the two of them. The mood in the school is really bad. People are totally down right now,” the student said.
Sharing a clip taken from the scene of the incident on their X profile, DAMI FOREIGN, the account owner said a motorcyclist was also killed in the accident.
“SAD NEWS: An accident, involving a bike and dangote trailer, claims life of an indigene (bike man) and two Fuoye students at the entrance of ilupeju EKITI
,” X user said.
When SaharaReporters contacted the Ekiti Police Command spokesperson, Abutu Sunday to confirm the incident and the identities of all the parties involved, the police spokesman said it was true but that two people died from the accident that involved a bike and a truck on Friday morning.
He added, “The identities of those involved are yet to be ascertained. We have arrested the truck driver but we are yet to know the real owner of the truck.”
The Special Assistant to the school’s vice-chancellor, Mr Wole Balogun could not be reached for comment on the incident. He did not answer his calls.
It is common for Nigerian students to be killed in accidents, including the ones involving trucks.
In February 2022, some students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo State took to social media to condemn the frequent accidents happening around the school gate.
SaharaReporters gathered that accidents involving trucks had claimed many lives of students and the lives of some indigenes of the host community.
On February 03, 2020, a graduate who went back to the school for his clearance was reportedly crushed and killed by a truck.
Two other people also died in the accident that happened around the school gate.
Also, some students returning to school for examinations were also killed by a truck a few kilometres from the school gate.
In 2021, the management of the school shut it down over a protest that followed a fatal accident involving a truck belonging to Dangote Cement, which occurred opposite the campus of the school, in which no fewer than nine persons, including some students of the university, were killed.
It was gathered that the cement-laden truck was heading for Owo from Obajana in Kogi State when its brakes reportedly failed. As a result, the driver lost control of the vehicle, swerved off the road and rammed into some shops directly opposite the university.
Using the hashtag #SaveAkungba, which became Nigeria’s number one trending topic on Twitter (now X) at the time, the students called on the government to dualise the road and rebuild the hilly Akungba-Ikare Road.