No fewer than nine people reportedly lost their lives in 13 road accidents that occurred in Osun, Ondo, and Oyo states in the first three days of the Sallah holiday.
The Federal Road Safety Corps Command of Zone 11, which comprises the three states, added that 78 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the crashes involving 21 vehicles and 128 people.
The Acting Zonal Commanding Officer for the Zone, Leye Adegboyega, who shared this information in a statement in Osogbo, stressed that those injured were taken to hospitals across the zone, while 41 other people were rescued without injuries during the period.
Adegboyega stated that the 2024 Eid El Kabir Sallah Special Patrol Operation is scheduled to be held between Friday, June 14th, and Friday, June 21st, 2024, across the country.
He revealed that in the major routes within his jurisdiction, the commission deployed a total of 3,018 personnel, 57 patrol vehicles, five ambulances, and two heavy-duty tow trucks during the period.
“Personnel from the command covered about 65 major routes across the zone daily to ensure good visibility and reduce avoidable speed-related crashes, while standby rescue teams were also stationed across all commands in the zone for quick response to distress calls from accident scenes,” Adegboyega said.
Zone RS11 Osogbo of the Corps, which comprises Osun, Ondo, and Oyo states, has aligned with the mission of the Operation, which is to ensure the free flow of traffic, minimize the occurrence of RTCs, provide prompt rescue services in the event of crashes, and ensure timely clearance of obstructions on all major roads and critical corridors across the three states of the Zone during and after the Sallah festivities.
To achieve the mission of the Operation, a total of 3,018 personnel (comprising 2,155 Regular Marshals and 863 Special Marshals), 57 patrol vehicles, five ambulances, and two heavy-duty tow trucks have been deployed across the component commands.
The roads covered daily include the following critical corridors: Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, Ibadan-Ife Expressway, Ife-Ilesa Expressway, Ilesa-Ipetujesa-Akure Expressway, Sagamu-Ore-Benin Expressway, and Ibadan-Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway.
“In the first three days of the operation, we have achieved the following:
i. The arrest of 737 traffic offenders who were duly contravened for 766 various traffic offenses that may otherwise have led to avoidable RTCs.
ii. Execution of 219 various public enlightenment activities across the news media, motor parks, churches, mosques, and other public places to drive home the road safety message and create public awareness of the need for safety consciousness.”
“We provided prompt rescue services for the victims of 13 RTCs which involved 21 vehicles and 128 people, out of which nine unfortunately lost their lives and 78 others sustained varying degrees of injuries and were swiftly conveyed to hospitals across the Zone, where we maintain cordial relationships for treatment.
Forty-one other people were rescued alive without injuries and continued their journeys,” he concluded.
