Lagos motorist, Ogun gov’s aides bicker as convoy, vehicle collide

A car owner, Mrs Babaita Ibironke, has tackled the Ogun State Government after one of the vehicles in the convoy of the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, accidentally collided with her Mercedes Benz GL450.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident happened around 6 pm on February 26, 2025, on the road leading to the Otedola Underbridge from the Alausa Secretariat area where there are traffic lights.

According to the driver of the car, Raymond Abiodun, one of the vehicles that was last in the convoy accidentally bashed his vehicle while he had already been passed by the traffic light.

The driver in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said, “The vehicle was the last one, I think it was left behind and it was coming with speed and the driver just dashed in from the expressway without considering that other vehicles were stopping. The traffic light had passed us, and as we were going, I had completely plied that road, and he came out and just bashed my vehicle.

“Not that he wanted to hit me deliberately but he appeared from nowhere.

“It could have hit a commercial bus before me, but that one moved faster and I was the one behind him.”

He said after the incident, the officials in the convoy took him and the car to the Alausa Police Station at Ikeja, where his vehicle was impounded.

He added, “So, at the station, I called my boss and explained everything. The vehicle was released on the third day. They didn’t detain me, but the vehicle was held. Although they didn’t touch me, I later discovered I had internal bleeding from the accident.

When contacted on Wednesday, one of the security details in the convoy, Saleh Ahmed, said the team was going to the airport in Ikeja to pick up the governor who was arriving.

He said the Mercedes driver jumped into the convoy by overtaking one of the vehicles.

According to Ahmed, who was in the Hilux vehicle involved in the crash, the vehicle was more damaged than the Mercedes Benz and it was a case of accident.

Ahmed said, “When something like that happens, we cannot just judge. That was why I said we should go to the police station. He was asking me at the police station what do we do because he knew he was at fault. I believe the Madam (vehicle owner) did not see our vehicle.

“If she sees our own and her vehicle, she will know (what happened). I have the video of everything. He overtook one of the buses from the back because the bus stopped from the convoy, but behind the bus, he now manoeuvred from the other back and entered while the convoy was going.

“My vehicle was the last on the convoy. The man did not allow us to go, the man just put his head on. When you see his vehicle and ours and where we touched his, you will know that man is at fault. That was why he was begging that day, and I said no, this is an accident issue. I told the DPO to ‘let the vehicle be here, just take the man’s particulars and let him go’ so that later he would not say another thing.

“The car is here, we are still repairing it. If you see the car and see the woman’s own, you will judge by yourself.”

The owner of the Mercedes Benz and boss to the driver, Ibironke, while speaking with PUNCH Metro, demanded that her vehicle be repaired by the state government.

She said, “My driver told me what happened. So, I drove down to the police station. I saw the DPO and the woman who explained what they told her. I saw the impact on my car. I said, ‘Madam, please look at this. Are we the ones at fault? Obviously, this car came to hit my car.’

“And even after that, they now have the guts to even detain my car because the woman said she can’t release it until they give the go-ahead. I think this is an oppression. This is a major oppression. You don’t do things like this. Number one, you breached the traffic law. Two, you damaged my car. Three, you are now oppressing me. I will take it up with the Ogun State Government.”

She said she had made efforts to speak with some officials in the Ogun State Government to repair her car but to no avail.

She queried why her car was impounded, saying, “My driver is bleeding from the nose. I am the one taking care of the medical expenses now. And I’m not even asking for that. But you have to fix my car. I will not take it. I will not take it because I wasn’t wrong,” she added.

When contacted on Tuesday, Governor Abiodun’s aide, Kayode Akinmade, said it was wrong for the driver to overtake a convoy for security reasons.

He said he was not aware of the incident and was going to find out more.

Akinmade said, “When you see a convoy, you must park. Even the traffic law states that the moment you hear their siren, you must park even if it is a medical emergency. You must park and allow the convoy to go.

“When a car deliberately wants to enter in-between a convoy, it is a breach of security which can affect the life of the VIP. This is not only peculiar to the Ogun State Government but to all governors, President or whoever who are entitled to a convoy.”

When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer at Alausa, Toyosi Shokinbi, promised to get back to our correspondent and had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.