Eight Edo state Libyan returnees were burnt to death in a motor accident along Ore-Sagamu road on their way to Lagos state to seek spiritual and financial assistance from Prophet T. B. Joshua, the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). Vanguard reports that their remains and seven other survivors, who sustained injuries, were taken to the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital, Ogun state.
NAIJ.com gathered that the incident, which was said to have occurred last week, involved a white Toyota Hiace 18-seater commercial bus with number plates AYB 479 XA and a Volvo truck with number plates KSF 79 XL. It was gathered that the commercial bus left Benin late in the night with 15 male and female returnees from Libya, after they had been profiled by the state task force on anti-human trafficking and illegal migration. They were reported to have headed to Lagos state to receive spiritual and financial assistance from Prophet T. B. Joshua, who had earlier assisted some of their colleagues.
Meanwhile, the Ogun state sector commandant of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Clement Oladele, who confirmed the incident in a telephone chat with Vanguard, explained that the accident happened when the driver of the truck drove against the traffic and had a head-on collision with the commercial bus. He explained that out of the 15 occupants of the commercial bus, nine were males, five females and one female child. Oladele further disclosed that five males and two females were injured, while the other eight passengers were burnt beyond recognition. According to the FRSC commandant, the accident happened due to “route violation following driving against traffic by the truck, dangerous driving and over-speeding. “The injured victims were taken to Ijebu-Ode General Hospital and the corpses were deposited at the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital mortuary. The burnt corpses were removed from the road by the FRSC rescue team.” In his reactions, the special adviser on media and communication strategy to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, Crusoe Osagie, who expressed shock over the incident, said the state government is yet to be informed. According to him, “any time we receive them, we profile them and give them all the necessary assistance that will enable them to be reintegrated into the society and unite with their families.
“They were not kept in prison like in Libya; they may have embarked on the trip to Lagos on their own volition. However, the state government will make effort to find out what happened and reach out to families of the dead and others affected in the accident.” Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that thirty three citizens of the Republic of Niger were discovered by the Yobe state government to be among the 216 returnees from Libya which were received on Saturday, January 20.
