The Federal Road Safety Corps, Ogun Command, on Monday, said only seven persons died from the road accident that occurred on Lagos/Ibadan expressway on Sunday as against 18 reported.
Clement Oladele, the Sector Commander, disclosed this after an on-the-spot assessment visit to some of the injured victims at Idera Hospital in Sagamu.
Oladele told the News Agency of Nigeria that seven, as against the 18 earlier reported in the media, died in the incident.
The sector commander said FRSC as an agency, would never add up or reduce the number of casualties as the agency helds in high esteem, issues of figures.
He said: “Out of the nine we brought here, some are in serious condition; some are getting better while they (hospital) have discharged one to his family.
“We learnt from some of the survivors here that the vehicle was on top speed and it had tyre burst which resulted into the accident.
“FRSC is a transparent and a data driven organisation, which means our data must be accurate; that’s why we don’t give false information but we give detailed information.”
He urged motorists to always exercise caution while on the road and drive according to rules and regulations.
One of the injured victims who spoke to NAN in the hospital, Francis Osifor, said he was coming from Abuja with six other passengers but on getting to Ibadan they were transferred to an interstate bus going to Lagos.
Osifor said that the bus was on top speed and later had tyre burst which resulted in the accident.
He said: “I wanted to tell the driver that the speed was much but I was feeling sleepy but the next thing I heard was a blast of tyre, the vehicle turned and went to the opposite direction. I was dragged out of the vehicle.”
Another survivor, Ismail Opeyemi, also testified that the speed was much before the incident, saying that he was happy to still be alive.
Opeyemi said: “We were coming from Ibadan and the tyre burst around 5 in the evening; it was the FRSC that took us to this hospital. I have already contacted my family.”
NAN reports that all the injured victims were seen at the hospital receiving treatment while one of them was discharged on Monday.
The Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency through its Public Relations Officer, Babatunde Akinbiyi, had on Sunday, announced the death of 18 passengers in the accident that happened around Alapako /Ogunmakin area on Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
Akinbiyi said that the accident involved 19 persons out of which 18 died and one seriously injured.
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