The Ondo State Police Command has refuted claims that a vehicle from the convoy of First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu was involved in the death of a nine-year-old girl in Akure on Thursday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the First Lady was in Ondo State to launch the Renewed Hope Initiative Health Programme and to distribute 10,000 professional kits, including Crocs and scrubs, to midwives in the South-West region.
In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, stated that the report, which emerged from an online news outlet, was completely unfounded and misleading.
“The attention of the Ondo State Police Command has been drawn to a false and misleading report published by Sahara Reporters on April 17. It alleged that the convoy of the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi, was responsible for the tragic death of a young girl in Akure,” the statement read.
“Eyewitness accounts and preliminary investigations conducted by the command confirm that the incident was caused by a hit-and-run driver operating an unregistered white Lexus vehicle, and not by any vehicle associated with the First Lady’s convoy.”
Mr Ayanlade noted that a witness, who saw the hit-and-run incident, chased after the fleeing vehicle on a motorcycle immediately following the crash, which happened in the Oba-Ile area of Akure. The witness’s account was supported by numerous individuals present at the scene, along with the victim’s parents.
“Furthermore, Sahara Reporters inaccurately claimed the deceased girl was nine years old. According to her parents, the child was actually seven years old, highlighting the publication’s disregard for factual accuracy, even in a matter as sensitive as this,” the statement added.
The Commissioner of Police for the Ondo State Command reportedly visited the grieving family personally, assuring them of a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.
“At no point was the First Lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy,” the spokesperson reiterated.
