TheCable

Parents of students of Ojodu Grammar School and Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School have called for a temporary closure of the schools following an accident which claimed the lives of some pupils. 

The incident, which happened on Tuesday afternoon, is said to have led to the death of about 10 students.

There were many students in the area at the time as they had just closed from school not too long before the accident happened. Some of those affected are said to be students from the schools where the Ojodu police station is also located.

Reacting to the incident on Wednesday, parents and guardians converged on the schools and demanded that they should be shut and examinations discontinued.

Speaking with TheCable, Bolaji, an alumnus of Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School, who has siblings in the school, said this is the first time such an incident will happen to students of the school.

He said the school must discontinue the examinations, which started on Monday, adding that it is imperative for the school to be shut for at least a month to honor the souls lost in the accident.

“I just finished speaking with my master who taught me mathematics. I know the principal very well,” he said.

“I was one of the prefects during my time in the school, that’s why I’m pained by this unfortunate incident.

“They are supposed to close the school. Throughout the month, the school is supposed to remain closed, because such a thing had never happened before.

“This is the first time students of these schools are going to die in such a way, why should the school remain open?”

VIDEO: Parents protest over killing of pupils in Lagos truck accident pic.twitter.com/CEYZzO07cX

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Speaking on the matter on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Wednesday, Olusegun Ogungbemide, sector commander of Lagos Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), said only two students died in the incident and that 14 others were injured.

He said about four of the injured students have been discharged from a hospital at Ojota.

“It was quite a pathetic situation yesterday, it was some minutes after 2pm when we got the alert from the office that there was a crash around Ojodu Grammar school,” he said.

“The operatives were mobilised to the scene and they were able to rescue about seven of the students in the patrol vehicle to the emergency centre at Ojota, while some other passersby were able to help to pick up some other students along with us.

“As at the time we got to Ojota emergency spot, we had about 12 to 14 students injured that were recovered to that hospital.

“It was on their way back to continue with the rescue operation that they got the information that the whole place has turned violent and there were attacks on the uniform men along that corridor alleged to being the cause of the crash.

“Where the news originated from, I wouldn’t know because as at that time the FRSC has no bearing whatever with the vehicle involved in the crash. There was no patrol activity that was going on along that corridor. 

“The fact that we share a corridor with a school could be what we suffered in what we experienced yesterday. It is quite unfortunate.

“The last information received yesterday is that about four of the students have been discharged by the hospital while the remaining ones are still receiving treatment.

“I would not be able to give a vivid account of what happened as regards the death toll because of the aftermath of the rescue where some of our facilities were attacked, so our men had to stay sway but at the time they were doing the rescue, only two were seen to be lifeless. 

“So I wouldn’t know if there was any fatality after that. It was during the first line of the rescue, before our men were attacked.”

Below are photos.