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Twenty months after a truck belonging to Dangote Sugar Refinery was involved in an accident, which claimed about 40 lives around Otedola Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a coroner on Wednesday ordered the firm to tender a public apology and pay compensation to the victims and their families.
The coroner’s verdict, which was read by Magistrate Tajudeen Elias, stated, “There should be a public apology from Dangote Sugar Refinery to the victims and their families, which would be publicised within three months of this verdict.
“The management of Dangote should within three months of this verdict, pay a minimal compensation to the victims and produce the driver of the truck that caused the accident to be handed over to the police.”
After the accident on August 15, 2010, an inquest commenced on September 6, 2010, following a request by Falana and Falana Chambers and Access to Justice.
Access to Justice had asked the coroner to look into the remote and immediate causes of the accident, loss of lives, identities of the victims and promptness of rescue operations.
During the inquest, the Lagos Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos office of the Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State Fire Service and Dangote firm were summoned.
The FRSC in its report stated that 15 people were burnt beyond recognition, while 18 people were injured just as many vehicles were destroyed in the accident.
The majority of the 11 witnesses, who testified during the hearing, blamed the policemen for mounting a roadblock at the spot where the accident occurred.
Many of them also blamed the truck driver for overspeeding resulting in brake failure. The truck was said to have rammed other vehicles in the gridlock caused by the police roadblock following which a petrol tanker exploded.
Elias read some of the testimonies of the witnesses.
A witness, who was travelling in his truck when the accident occurred stated, “On the day of the accident, there was a police roadblock on the end of the bridge. So, there was a heavy traffic on the road, vehicles were moving very slowly as a result of the tyres used to barricade the road by the policemen.
“I was suddenly hit from behind by a vehicle and I hit another vehicle in my front. I heard a blast from a petrol tanker nearby and there was a fire outbreak. People then began to run helter-skelter. As this happened, the policemen could no longer be found.”
The coroner concluded that the causes of the accident were indeed the roadblock set up by the policemen and collision caused by the Dangote truck.
“If there was no brake failure and overspeeding by the truck, there would not have been any accident. The sloppy nature of the road and absence of road signs were also contributory factors to the accident,” Elias stated, adding that roadblocks in the area or on the country’s highway “should not be the usual sight.”
He said the police should provide regular surveillance to ensure that illegal roadblocks were not set up by errant policemen.
Both the police counsel and the Access to Justice commended the verdict.
Mr. Leonard Dibia of Access to Justice later told our correspondent that the response of Dangote Sugar Refinery to the recommendations of the coroner would determine the next line of action.
“We will watch their response, presuming that they are responsible citizens. Having been indicted in a matter that claimed many human lives, we will wait to see if the victims are duly compensated as a testimony to the company’s claim of being a humanitarian organisation,” he said.
Culled from Punch Metro.
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Simply Cheska...
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