Policemen, about to wed, die in Ogun crash

Five employees of the Justice Development and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, died on Friday in an accident along the Benin-Ore Expressway.

The deceased employees, recently transferred from Ijebu Ode to Akure, the Ondo State capital, were said to have been travelling to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir festival with their families when the accident occurred.

They were said to be travelling in a police vehicle when the crash occurred around the Ogbere area of the Benin-Ore Expressway. An unspecified number of policemen, also said to be travelling with them, also died in the crash.

The Assistant Director, JDPC, Ijebu-Ode, Mrs. Ireti Disu, explained that the five JDPC employees had sought the assistance of the policemen, who were also heading towards Lagos from Ore.

Disu said the vehicle had a head-on collision with a trailer at Ijebu-Itele, where the five employees as well as five policemen lost their lives.

She described the death as a great shock to the JDPC, adding that two of the victims were recently employed and only received their first salary in September.

Our correspondent gathered that one of the victims, 26-year-old Lawal Olawunmi, was to get married in December.

Lawal’s dad was said to have earlier seen her in a traffic hold-up at Ogbere Junction in the police vehicle and had waved at her, hoping to meet her at home later.

Another victim of the accident, 31-year-old Adekoya Saheed, was said to be the only child of his late parents.

During a funeral mass, organised for them on Monday, distraught JDPC employees, wore gloomy faces, while many others wailed at the Ijebu Ode headquarters of the commission.