Scene of the truck accident at Ojodu in Lagos, Tuesday
Lagos closes school in Ojodu over killing of students by truck
Lagos Government has shut down the Ojodu Grammar School, in Ojodu-Berger area of the state.
This follows last Tuesday’s killing of over a dozen children returning from school by a truck driver, whose heavy-duty vehicle allegedly failed brakes and rammed into the victims, Tuesday afternoon. Many also sustained injuries.
The incident caused mayhem in the area as an angry mob made up of mostly students of the school went on rampage seeking the driver and caused extensive damage to the local police station where the culprit was remanded, just as personnel of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) became targets of violent assaults by the mob.
The mob had accused the LASTMA officials of causing the accident.
In a media briefing on Wednesday, the Lagos Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo revealed that academic activities at the school have been suspended.
Adefisayo disclosed that students would return in January to write the end-of-term exams interrupted by the incident.
“We need the children to calm down and grieve for now. We will resume in January.
“It is an internal exam, so they will do tests and we will make up so they can have a continuous assessment. They’ll roll out those tests when they come in January. It’s not disturbing the coverage of the scheme of work.”
The truck lost its brake and rammed into the students who were about to cross the road.
It was learned that the truck driver fled the scene but was arrested by students and residents of the area.
However, the truck was destroyed and set ablaze by an irate mob.
Residents in the area confirmed that the students had been seeking out LASTMA officials since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Tuesday, December 7, debunked reports that its officers were involved in the crash along Ogunusi Road, Grammar School Bus Stop, Lagos State.
A hit-and-run truck had crushed some pupils on Tuesday at the bus stop just as they closed from school around 2 pm.
In a statement, the FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Olusegun Ogungbemide, said the articulated truck lost control, resulting in the death of an “unverified number of students and leaving many injured.”
