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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
A tipper, yesterday, crushed four students and a commercial motorcyclist, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, causing pandemonium. Four of the victims were students of Idito High School, Erunmu, Ibadan in Lagelu Local Government Area. Erunmu, which hosts Ibadan Inland Dry Port, is along Ibadan-Iwo highway, near Lalupon.
Daily Sun gathered that colleagues of the deceased students got angry, mobilised and staged violent protest on the Ibadan-Iwo highway.
The protesting students, who were joined by some youth in nearby communities, made bonfire on the road and effectively stopped vehicular movement between Ibadan and Iwo town. The barricade created traffic logjam around Lalupon, Erunmu, Iyana-Offa, Olodo, Monatan and Iwo Road Interchange areas. As a result, transportation fare skyrocketed, forcing many people that could not afford it, to trek long distances to their destinations. The irate protesters burnt the mini truck that caused the accident while the driver narrowly escaped being lynched. The protesters also vandalised four other vehicles.
An eyewitness said the four students were being conveyed to school on a motorcycle when the mini truck hit them. It was learnt that people around the place reportedly rushed the victims to an undisclosed hospital but they died before getting to the hospital.
Daily Sun gathered that the driver of the mini truck was trying to avoid hitting an animal that strayed to the road, before he rammed into the moving motorcycle.
A resident in Erunmu, who preferred anonymity, said: “We are not mad people. This protest is spontaneous. This is not the first time a thing like this would happen here.”
