The Ondo State Police Command has dismissed reports alleging that a vehicle in the convoy of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was involved in the d3ath of a young girl in Akure on Thursday, April 18, describing the claims as false and misleading.
Senator Tinubu was in Ondo State for the launch of the Renewed Hope Initiative Health Programme and to distribute 10,000 professional kits, including Crocs and scrubs, to midwives across the South-West.
In a statement released by the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, the police clarified that the report, which was published by Sahara Reporters, was not only inaccurate but also lacked a credible basis.
“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.”
The police added that a witness who saw the hit-and-run incident pursued the fleeing vehicle on a motorcycle immediately after the crash, which occurred in the Oba-Ile area of Akure. Multiple witnesses at the scene and the victim’s parents corroborated this account.
The command also pointed out an error in the report regarding the victim’s age. “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 noted.
The Commissioner of Police in Ondo State reportedly visited the bereaved family and assured them of a full and transparent investigation into the incident.
“At no point was the first lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy,” the police spokesperson reaffirmed.