Five secondary school teachers died, and several others were injured on Tuesday after a trailer, allegedly being driven against traffic, had a head-on collision on the Ijebu-Ode/Epe Road with one of the buses conveying them.
According to thegazellenews.com, sources disclosed that the teachers were at Alausa Secretariat to attend a staff audit organised by the state government to identify ghost workers.
Stating that the death toll might rise due to the serious injuries sustained by others in the accident, the source said the teachers, who were from Epe, were conveyed in hired buses to the event venue at the Adeyemi Bero Hall.
“Five teachers died on the spot while the injured were rushed to the Epe General Hospital. There were lots of teachers in attendance since the exercise involved all secondary teachers in Lagos State. The Epe teachers could not complete their audit as at 7 p.m. when the exercise closed, and they headed back home,” sources narrated.
Sources added, “We have not slept since then, and the Epe General Hospital is playing host to teachers and their families as at the time of writing this report.”
The outlet reported that the teachers, who were about 167 in total, were in a convoy of 18-seater buses numbering about ten. Due to road construction on the normal route via the Lekki-Ajah axis, they took the alternative route through Ijebu-Ode.
Some of the survivors blamed the Babajide Sanwo-Olu government for not decentralising the exercise, stating that, in the past, the exercise was conducted at the education districts.
“I don’t know why they asked all the teachers to come to Alausa. If you see the scene of the audit at Alausa, the place was so rowdy that one can even suffocate,” a teacher revealed.
The police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, had not responded to calls or texts from Peoples Gazette seeking comment on the tragic accident at the time of filing this report.
(NAN)