I nearly ran mad when I heard about my only child’s death – Father of crushed Lagos pupil

The families of one of the victims of the crash that occurred recently in Lagos was visited by a team of the Lagos State Government officials led by the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo at their residence on Igbeyinadun Street, Sabo, on Wednesday to commiserate with them over the death of their only child, Adedoyin Adebayo.

She was an SS2 student of Babs Fafunwa Millenium Secondary School (formerly known as Ojodu Grammar School) who was going home around 2pm after closing from the school when a hit-and-run truck loaded with soap crushed her and about 14 other pupils.

The driver of the truck was eventually arrested while his vehicle was burnt by angry mobs. The mobs went on to vandalise about 10 trucks on the road.

It was confirmed by the police that a 15-year-old Adedoyin and a 14-year-old Israel Akpolebi, died, while others, who suffered varying degrees of injury, were admitted to different hospitals.

The parent of Adedoyin, Mr. Adeyemi had spoken out on how the death of his child had destabilize him and his wife, he said:

“She was the apple of our eyes; she was our only child. Till now, her mother is still unstable. I am a cab driver. In the afternoon of that day, the vehicle was faulty and I called the owner to inform him. As I was driving home, I saw some of her schoolmates waving at me and shouting ‘Adedoyin.’ They said she was hit by a truck.

“I parked the car and took a bike to the scene. I saw personal effects of some pupils at the scene but didn’t see hers. We went to all the hospitals the pupils were taken to but couldn’t find her. My brother and a relative then went to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. From there, they directed them to the Lagos Mainland Hospital morgue where her corpse was deposited.

“I was at the police station when the news of her death was broken to me. I nearly ran mad. It was policemen who held me and tried to console me. She was a very friendly child. She would hug her mum before she left for school. She was a good girl.

“The Commissioner for Education came and promised that the government would assist us in any way they could. This is the time my wife needs me most. If I have my own cab, I will be able to make more money to take care of her.”

An elder sister to the deceased student, Mrs Victoria Laval while speaking blamed the officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority for the accident. An assertion that has been refuted by the LASTMA afore time.

She further praised Adedoyin to be a brilliant and loving child adding that the family had recently marked her 15th birthday.

“We appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to prevail on LASTMA officials. If they had not chased the truck, the accident would have been avoided.

“Adedoyin was like a child to me. She was so precious to us. She spent the last mid-term break with me.

“She preached at the church last Sunday at the children section. She was also leading the Christmas Carole that would come up in a few days’ time. She was very brilliant. She clocked at 15 on November 26.

“A day before the incident, she was asking my daughter to give her a wig. When we learnt about her death on Tuesday, we were shocked. The government should find a way to console all the parents of the affected pupils.” she said.

It is indeed saddening to loss someone at such age to the cold hands of death. We commiserate with the futures and wish them recovery from the shock.

The Lagos State government should look into the issue and identify for sure as to whether or not LASTMA was involved and bring the officials to book where necessary.