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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Eighteen people, comprising 16 passengers and two drivers, lost their lives in a ghastly road accident which occurred at Kilometre 2 Cattle Market, Iseyin, in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, on Saturday evening.
The accident was said to have occurred as a result of head-on-collision between two fully loaded Mazda buses on the newly reconstructed 76-kilometre Ibadan- Iseyin Road.
Available information revealed that each of the buses carried 18 passengers, making a total of 36 passengers, excluding the two drivers.
A resident of Iseyin, Hassan Abbey, while narrating the incident to Daily Sun said: “When we heard of the accident, we rushed to the scene. And on getting there, we tried to help. In the process, we counted 16 dead bodies of passengers and two lifeless bodies of the drivers of the two buses. And we rushed those who were injured to the hospitals. The 20 people who survived the accident were severely injured. Some had their limbs totally severed from their bodies.”
Eighteen passengers and the two drivers reportedly died on the spot. The dead bodies, we gathered, were taken to FADOK Hospital, near Iseyin Divisional Police Headquarters, Okutapemo, Iseyin.
Meanwhile, eight among nine members of an orthodox church in Ibadan, were said to be among the 18 dead passengers after attending a function in Saki. A pastor of the church and eight members of the church were in one of the two buses involved in the accident. Sources said they were on their way from Saki to Ibadan, before the accident occurred in Iseyin. The bodies of the eight church members were deposited at Our Lady Hospital in Iseyin. Wife of the pastor who led the team was said to have survived, but with broken limbs.
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Oyo State, Winifred Chukwura, who confirmed the accident, said she could not confirm the number of casualties at the time of filing the report.
The traditional ruler of Iseyin, Oba Abdganiy Salawudeen Adekunle Oloogunebi Ajinese 1; National President, Iseyin Development Union (I.D.U), Alhaji Bayo Raji; and a member of Oyo State House of Assembly, Dele Adeola, representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju state constituency, called on Oyo State Government to urgently put in place, speed breakers at locations like ‘Serafu’, Kilometre 2 Cattle Market and the Iseyin Muslim Burial Ground Junction, along Iseyin-Moniya road to dissuade motorists from over-speeding.
