‘Female sergeant didn’t want to go after corrupt policemen’

A single mother, woman Sergeant Blessing Umoru, was among the four policemen that died in auto crash along Isiu village, Itokin, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State on Sunday afternoon.

Umoru was a member of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni’s X Squad, ‘A’ Team.

According to a source in Lagos Command, the team, which had five police personnel, crashed while chasing some policemen, sighted extorting motorists.

The deceased are Umoru, Inspector Igwe Shegun, Corporal Idowu and woman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Tola.

The four police team members died after a head on collision with a tipper.

It was gathered that on the fateful day, when Umoru was called upon to join her team for surveillance and patrol duty, she had complained loudly that she was tired of chasing after corrupt policemen.

But since it was her duty, she reluctantly left the command with her team members. It turned out to be her last operation.

One of her colleagues, weeping, said: “Blessing was a single mother. She has a 14-year-old daughter. She was the only person responsible for the girl’s upkeep. On Saturday, she bought and took some food items to the girl. I don’t know how the girl would manage now without Blessing.”

Eye witnesses’ accounts said that the driver of the tipper, which was painted blue, was on high speed, so also was the police van. The tipper and team rammed into each face-to-face.

The tipper and police van fell into a ditch, which was close to the road. The accident caused a gridlock. Many travellers became stranded for hours, while trying to give a helping hand to some of the injured victims.

Some residents in the area said the accident was caused by high speed and bad road.

Mr. Adedeji Shokunbi said that the policemen would have survived the accident, if they had not been on high speed.

He said: “The road is narrow; there are a lot of potholes on the road. One of the police women would have survived, if she had been rescued on time. She was still breathing when we got to the scene. The woman raised her hand, calling for help. There were other three policemen. They were already died. Government should station an ambulance on the road, to assist in the rescue and saving of lives of accident victims.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole said the accident occurred around 1p.m. along Isiu Road.

He said: “At about 1p.m on Sunday, a police truck with registration No. NPF 409 D, with five policemen on board. It was head-on collision with a 911 tipper lorry with no registration number. The driver of the Nissan frontier 911-van who could not be identified fled the scene. Both vehicles were coming from opposite directions and had a head-on collision at a point near Isiwu. Three policemen died on the spot.

“An ASP and an inspector, who sustained serious injuries, were rushed to LASUTH, Ikeja, where one of them was later confirmed dead. The fifth officer is currently on admission.”

Famous-Cole said that the corpses of the deceased had been deposited at the General Hospital, Ikorodu where they would be taken to LASUTH, Ikeja, for autopsy.

He said: “Both vehicles involved in the accident had been towed to the Ikorodu Police Division as investigation was ongoing. As the Lagos State Police Command mourns the death of some of its finest officers who died in active duty, the command will not leave any stone unturned to bring justice to the lost souls.”

He urged the general public to come forward with any useful information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the fleeing driver.