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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mr. Adebowale Williams, has said a total of 351 lives have been dispatched to their early grave by road traffic accidents in the state, in less than nine months of 2022, while 538 people were also injured.
Besides, the police boss raised the alarm over rising suicide cases in the state, saying between June and September 2022, at least 10 people, including two teenagers, committed suicide.
He made the disclosure yesterday during an interactive session with the media, which was held in Ibadan, the state capital. He said the figures of the road traffic accident cases were rolled out, in order to sensitise members of the public to be careful when driving on the road, especially during the last four months of the year, known as ‘Ember Months’.
Adebowale, who said the sensitisation was being carried out by the Oyo State Police Command, in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), and Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority (OYRTMA), to ensure that motorists drive carefully on the road and avoid preventable accidents.
In the breakdown, he said a total of 223 fatal, 305 serious, and 223 minor accident cases occurred within the nine months.
Williams attributed major causes of vehicle accidents to over-speeding, reckless driving, driving against traffic (passing one way), aggressive driving, burst tyres while on motion and brake failures.
On the suicide cases, Williams, who was flanked by top police officers in the command, stated that all the 10 people who killed themselves were male. He said the two teenagers were Basiru Ayomide, 18, of Okiti Compound, Bale Oyo, Oyo, and Osasenage Osamade, 16, of Jubilee Street, Orogun, Ibadan. But the oldest among the adults who committed suicide was 60 years.
