Dangote cement employee killed in staff bus crash

A staff member of the Dangote Cement Industry, Taoreed Okanlawon, lost his life when a bus of the organisation ran over him following a road accident on Saturday.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Saturday along the Dangote Roundabout in the Ibesehe area of Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The eyewitness who did not want to be mentioned in print noted that the victim was a passenger on a motorcycle. He was said to have fallen from the motorcycle when the driver ran into a speed bump and collided with the tyre of the staff bus.

The staff bus which was in motion was said to have run over him and killed him in the process.

The eyewitness said, “An employee of Dangote died this morning. He was on a motorcycle when the motorcycle ran into a speed bump and he fell into the tyre of a Dangote staff bus. The bus ran over him and he died immediately.”

Confirming the incident in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, revealed that the driver of the staff bus fled the scene.

She said upon receiving a report of the incident, police officers from the Imasayi Division visited the scene of the accident.

She narrated, “The incident involved a Dangote staff bus from the Agrosac Packaging Department, bearing the registration number Lagos MUS 53 XS, driven by an unidentified driver who fled the scene. The second vehicle involved was a Bajaj Boxer motorcycle ridden by Achile Ejigho, a male staff member of the Mines Department at Dangote Cement Company, with a passenger, Taoreed Okanlawon, also of the same department.

“The accident happened when the motorcyclist attempted to overtake the bus and lost control after hitting a pothole, causing him to collide with the bus’ front tyre. Unfortunately, the passenger, Taoreed Okanlawon, was run over and died instantly.”

The PPRO noted that the body of the deceased was taken to a mortuary in the area while the injured victim was taken to the cement firm’s hospital for treatment.

“The body was later removed and taken to the state hospital mortuary in Ilaro for an autopsy. The motorcyclist sustained serious injuries and was transported to the Jajo Hospital Dangote, where he is currently receiving treatment and is reportedly responding well.

“An investigation into the incident is ongoing,” Odutola concluded.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Dangote Cement Industry, Tony Chiejina, asked our correspondent to reach out to a colleague, Francis Browne, which he did but Browne had yet to respond to enquiries on the incident as of the time of filing this report.