Published 18th Mar, 2024

By Timileyin Akinmoyeje

On February 8, an accident involving a motorcycle and a Sienna bus occurred in front of Narwarudeen Secondary School, Obantoko, Ogun State, and as of the time of this report, the motorcycle rider is deceased, the driver of the Sienna bus walks free and the taxi driver who tried to salvage the situation is at the mercy of the Ogun State Police Command.

Ogunwolu Nofisat Sotayo-aro, the wife of the taxi driver, has accused the Ogun State Police of impounding her husband’s vehicle without a justified cause and causing her family considerable hardship.

While giving an an account of her husband’s involvement in the accident, she told FIJ that the Ogun State Police had been victimising him for attempting to rescue the motorcycle rider who was involved in the accident.

“My husband was partially involved in an accident at Nawarudeen Obantoko. According to his narration, a Toyota Sienna bus deliberately hit a motorcycle rider. Both vehicles were going towards Gbonogun. My husband was ascending towards Obantoko,” she said.

“The motorcycle rider fell and hit his taxi, damaging it in the process and injuring one of his four passengers. To his surprise, the driver didn’t even bother to wait to check on the victims; he just zoomed off. My husband had to pursue him with a bike until he caught up with him in Aregbe. He then dragged the bus driver to Aregbe Divisional Police Station.”

Ogunwolu thinks that her husband would have been better off if he absolved himself of the situation and left the scene after calling the police.

“After my husband got to the police station, they sent officers to the scene of the event while they interrogated the man who drove the Sienna bus. He confessed that he ran into those people deliberately because motorcyclists along that route had always been destroying his side mirror. Eventually, the bike man allegedly died after a while, and one other person on the bike was admitted to the intensive care unit at FMC,” she said.

“Seven days later, the bus driver was released and the motorcycle involved in the accident was also released to the family of the deceased. But my husband and I have been visiting for the release of his car since that day. The IPO in charge was always telling him that the taxi could not be released as the investigation was still ongoing and it was evidence in court.

“Mind you, on the day of the incident, Aregbe police station’s DPO called us to his office and told the man that he had just committed manslaughter because the act was intentional. He told my husband that he was a witness if the case got to court. However, the family of the deceased said they were not pressing charges.

“The IPO – his name is Amos Stephen – particularly told us that the family of the deceased had been settled. He, however, didn’t say anything about our vehicle. My husband was asked to pay N20,500 for a VIO inspection for the taxi at a point, with a promise that it would be released after that.

“After that, another twist was introduced when my brother-in-law went to ask what was delaying the vehicle. The IPO told him stylishly that if care was not taken, my husband might be implicated if the issue was taken to court.”

Ogunwolu also told FIJ that beyond the police’s unwillingness to release the vehicle, the DPO had been bullying her and her husband. She said that the DPO had been soliciting for the culprit whenever they brought his case up.

She believes that the police are conspiring to take advantage of her husband because they believe he isn’t literate. Ogunwolu also narrated how she had sought the intervention of the state’s police public relations officer and the commissioner of police to no effect.

“I called the PPRO and, actually, they did well and put a call to the DPO to release our vehicle yesterday. But he still insists on taking us to court. I even learned that they took the other guy to court and the judge has released him without informing us,” she said.

“The commissioner said that technically, my husband was not at fault in any way from the picture submitted to him. However, the legal officer there didn’t allow us to express ourselves, and the commissioner did not stay at the office for more than three minutes. We couldn’t get any resolution.”

When FIJ called the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer on Sunday, she said that the situation had been resolved amicably among all the parties involved.

Ogunwolu, however, denied this. She said the police had charged them in court instead. She also mentioned that the police should have taken the case to court earlier than this, instead of keeping the car impounded.

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