At least four people, including three students and a commercial motorcycle rider, have reportedly died in a road accident that occurred in Oluyole local government area of Oyo State.
In a swift reaction, the council chairman, Asiwaju Akeem Olatunji, who confirmed the accident in Ibadan, issued directives to prevent future occurrences.
He directed that all quarry trucks carrying asphalt, granite, or any other material adequately cover them to prevent spills on the road.
Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred around 9am on Tuesday when a truck owned by a construction company, operating along the Abanla–Idi-Ayunre axis, fatally crushed a commercial motorcycle carrying three students of Prospect High School, Abanla, all at once.
Eyewitnesses disclosed that the truck driver rammed into the motorcycle carrying the three students after a failed attempt to overtake another vehicle.
The truck driver reportedly ran away from the accident scene immediately. As of the time of filing this report, his whereabouts were still unknown, as the police were commencing further investigation into the accident.
The commercial motorcyclist and two students died immediately, while the third student was eventually pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Eyewitnesses said that distraught students came into the streets shortly after the incident, blocking the road and demanding justice and urgent government intervention.
Reacting to the development, the executive Chairman of the council, Asiwaju Olatunji, hurriedly arrived at the scene alongside the police and other security agencies to address the protesters and reassure the community of immediate and long-term actions.
While expressing deep sorrow over the loss of young lives, he condemned the recklessness of some trailer drivers operating in the area and commercial motorcyclists in their rush for quick money.
He explained that if the commercial motorcyclists had adhered to all necessary traffic rules, including the number of passengers allowed, the rider would have been able to navigate and manoeuvre his way to prevent the ghastly accident from occurring.
