The Ogun State Command of Federal Road Safety Corps says it has handed over a sum of €65,000 (about N27m) recovered from the wreckage of a Toyota Hiace bus involved in a crash on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday to the owners.
The money was presented to the owners on Friday by the Ogun State FRSC Sector Commander, Corps Commander Clement Oladele and the Unit Commander, Sagamu Unit Command, Assistant Corps Commander Mohammed Abdullahi at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital.
It was reported that the driver of the commercial bus belonging to Iyare Motors with the number plate, BEN 313 YZ had picked eight passengers at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos upon their arrival from Spain.
After the driver picked two more passengers, the bus headed for Benin City, Edo State, where the returnees wanted to attend a wedding.
However, some distance away from Sagamu Interchange along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the bus, reportedly on top speed, rammed into the rear of a truck in an attempt to overtake the vehicle. Seven passengers died in the crash.
A total of 14 passengers comprising six males and eight females were involved in the crash while four injured victims were rushed to OOUTH by an FRSC team on routine patrol along the expressway.
The corps Public Education Officer in the state, Route Commander Florence Okpe, in a statement on Friday said the bus was overloaded with luggage, adding that the money (€65,000) was found in the luggage.
“In line with the rule of the World Health Organisation, a hospital follow-up of the victims of the fatal crash was done by the FRSC, Ogun State Sector Commander, Corps Commander Clement Oladele. One of the injured victims at the hospital (OOUTH) was referred to the University College Hospital, Ibadan, for surgery while two other female victims were responding to treatment.
“Unfortunately another female victim passed on at the hospital putting the total number of death at eight. The three other passengers that made the total of 14 victims were in the truck and they sustained minor injuries.
“The suspected causes of the crash are overloading (goods) and excessive speed leading to loss of control. The 14-seater bus was conveying 11 passengers including the driver with a total of 32 large travelling bags.
“It was observed that some of the passengers were travelling with cash including foreign currencies. The FRSC rescue team recovered the following cash and items: 32 travelling bags comprising 16 large travelling bags, seven extra large travelling bags and nine large ‘Ghana-must-go bags. Sums of €65,780, £80,238 euro cents and N84,800 were recovered,” the statement read in part.
It added that the corps had commenced legal actions against Iyare Motors for traffic violations, including failure to provide a passenger manifest, failure to install a speed limiter and overloading the vehicle with excessive luggage.
