At no point was the first lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy
The Ondo State Command of the Police Force has denied the allegations that a vehicle in First Lady Sen. Remi Tinubu‘s convoy was involved in Thursday’s Akure tragedy, where a girl of nine years old was killed.
On Thursday, Remi Tinubu was in Akure to inaugurate the South-West leg of the Renewed Hope Initiative, which aims to improve the well-being of women and girls across the country.
Additionally, she was there to present no less than 10,000 professional kits, which include scrubs and Crocs, to nurses and midwives working in the South-West state.
As the president’s wife made her way from the airport to the celebration location, a butter-colored Hilux in the First Lady’s convoy rammed Saratu around Oba Ile, according to Sahara source.
The source said, “A seven years old girl by name Saratu Lawal, and a pupil of Islamiyar Arabic School, Shasha, was knocked down by a butter coloured hilux in the government convoy of her Excellency, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is on official visit to Ondo State.”
Reacting, The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Olufunmila Odunlami-Omisanya, clarified in a statement that the claims which was published by an online reporter, was wholly baseless and misleading.
According to the spokesperson for the command, a witness who witnessed the hit-and-run incident in the Oba-Ile area of Akure promptly pursued the fleeing vehicle on a motorcycle following the crash.
The victim’s parents, numerous individuals who were present at the site corroborated the witness accounts.
The statement reads, “The attention of the Ondo State Police Command has been drawn to a false and misleading report published by Sahara Reporters on April 17.
“It alleged that the convoy of the first lady, Sen. Oluremi, was responsible for the tragic death of a young girl in Akure.
“Eyewitness accounts and preliminary investigations conducted by the command confirm that the incident was caused by a hit-and-run driver operating an unregistered white Lexus vehicle. And not by any vehicle associated with the first lady’s convoy.
“Furthermore, Sahara Reporters inaccurately claimed the deceased girl was nine years old.
“According to her parents, the child was actually seven years old, highlighting the publication’s disregard for factual accuracy, even in a matter as sensitive as this.”
“At no point was the first lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy.”
According to the report, Commissioner of Police of the Ondo state command personally visited the bereaved family and assured them of a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.