Ogun river: Search for accident victims continues, as state assembly demands action

* ‘killer river’ claims eleven lives in 9 months

Rescue operations for the victims of a commuter bus which plunged into Ososa river in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun state has not yielded results more than 24 hours after the incident, Daily Trust reports.

The bus loaded with passengers was heading towards Ijebu – Ode on Wednesday when its tyre burst and subsequently plunged into the river.

A driver had on Saturday night flipped the car he drove into the river, but his body was not recovered until Monday morning.

Findings by our correspondent revealed that the river has claimed no fewer than 11 lives this year due to series of accidents.

The State’s Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Clement Oladele, who spoke with our correspondent on Thursday confirmed that 11 people have died in the river this year.

“Yes, it is true”, Oladele said, while hinting that none of the crash victims has been rescued so far.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, has called on the State Ministry of Works and Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) to immediately install barriers on both sides of the Ososa Bridge on the Sagamu-Benin Express way as well as reflective traffic signals to alert road users of the danger spot with a view to averting any further loss of lives on the bridge.

Oluomo, who noted that the road belonged to the federal government, gave the directive while responding to the submissions of members of the House who called for government’s intervention on the situation of roads in their respective constituencies.

The Speaker while acknowledging Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration’s effort in the provision of palliative measures on roads across the state, attributed the deplorable state of the roads to long years of neglect by past administration.

He also appealed to the residents to bear with government as full road construction and rehabilitation where necessary would commence immediately the rain subsides.