The Police Force, Ondo State Command, has dismissed reports claiming a vehicle in the convoy of Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Remi Tinubu, knocked down and killed a 7-year-old girl named Saratu Lawal in Akure, Ondo State.
Speaking via a press release by its spokesperson, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, the command revealed that the report, published by SaharaReporters was completely false and misleading. He said that a witness who was present during the tragic accident confirmed that it was a hit-and-run incident involving a man driving an unregistered white Lexus vehicle.
It read, “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.”
According to him, the witness even tried pursuing the fleeing car on an okada immediately after the hit took place, but his effort was in vain. Olushola manintained that no vehicle associated with the first lady’s convoy was involved in the incident, and SaharaReporters deserves to be called out for completely disregarding factual accuracy for such a sensitive matter.
He added that the commissioner of Police, Ondo State command has personally paid a visit to the grieving family, and he guaranteed them a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident to fish out the culprit and deal with the individual accordingly.
“Furthermore, Sahara Reporters inaccurately claimed the deceased girl was nine years old. But 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,” it added.
Remi Tinubu arrived Akure on Thursday to kickstart the South-West leg of the Renewed Hope Initiative that is meant to better the lives of women and young girls across Nigeria, while distributing a minimum of 10,000 professional kits, including crocs and scrubs, to active nurses and midwives saving lives in the South-West region.
