The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Oyo Sector Command, has confirmed the death of five persons in a multiple-vehicle crash that occurred on Tuesday at the Soka area of the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway.
FRSC spokesperson Mayowa Odewo disclosed that the fatal incident involved three articulated trucks, two private cars, and two Nissan Micra taxis, all of which were severely damaged due to the impact of the collision.
Odewo revealed that the deceased included a male child, one male adult, and three female adults. One of the bodies was released to a relative with police approval, while the remaining four were deposited at the Adeoyo State Hospital mortuary.
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An anonymous eyewitness reported that the crash began when an articulated truck attempted to reverse from an abandoned filling station onto the expressway and collided with another truck approaching from behind. The impact set off a chain reaction, resulting in a pile-up involving another truck, two private cars, and two taxis.
In another development, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Iyabo Yerima has granted freedom to 77 inmates of the Abolongo Correctional Facility in Oyo, Oyo State.
The CJ, represented by Justice Ladiran Akintola of the Oyo State High Court, freed the inmates during a prison visit to the facility on Tuesday.
The inmates, who had separately been awaiting trial, had their cases, of capital offences, reviewed before their release.
Some of the inmates were also granted freedom based on their health status, as some of them battled tuberculosis and kidney problems.
Yerima remarked that the prison facilities were overstretched, hence the reason for the decongestion.
According to her, the cases were deserving, hence the decision of the judiciary to exercise its discretion to get the inmates released.
“We hope that the goal of getting this facility decongested would have been achieved at the end of this visit today.
“We will look into it and see how to make the visit on a regular basis,” she said.
The CJ, however, congratulated the released inmates for the uncommon favour they received from God, urging them to show gratitude by not taking the opportunity for granted.
“There is a reason God has intervened for you. Therefore, I want you to turn a new leaf, beginning from now.
“Don’t go back to your way of sin and crime again; rather, engage in a work possible for you and within your capabilities.
“May this liberty you have obtained today be for your good.
“Also, go back to God and the people you offended to make peace with them,” Yerima said.
Earlier, the Comptroller of Correction, Oyo State, CC Dare Opadeji, appreciated the visit, describing it as a long-awaited one by the inmates.
Opadeji appealed to the CJ to make the visit more regular, suggesting monthly or quarterly visits.
NAN
