Following the killing of a young man, Ibikunle Alonge, in Akure, the Ondo State capital by a wreckless bullion van belonging to a commercial bank in the town, the Ondo State Police Command has pledged to arrest the driver of the vehicle.
The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) who gave this assurance said the investigation had begun into the unfortunate and avoidable incident.
He said the command had begun the process to identify the bullion van and the bank it belongs to, saying there was no formal report from any of the bank in the state capital about the incident.
He said: “We have yet to get the identity of the bullion van but we are on it. We have commenced our investigation.
“We cannot trace the bullion van to any bank and no bank is owing up to the incident but I am assuring that we will get to the root of the matter,” he said
He said the command frequently lectured the police from the command who are always on the special assignment of escorting bullion vans on the need to take some precautions on the road.
“We will keep lecturing them, the ACP Operation who is in charge always charge them to be careful on the road and to adhere to the traffic rules.
“I want to confirm that the bullion van is not from us and we will investigate the matter,” the PPRO stated.
He, however, cautioned bullion van drivers against driving against the traffic rules and regulations, noting that most of the drivers are reckless on road.
Meanwhile, youths in Akure, protested against the killing of Alonge, who was crushed to death by a bullion van belonging to a commercial bank.
Alonge who was a tiler was said to be on a motorcycle when he was knocked down by the bullion van along Ondo Road, at Fanibi area of Akure, on Thursday.
The bullion van driver and police escort, however, did not wait to see if the young man was alive but they abandoned him in the toad where he gave up after some few minutes.
The youth who converged on Oshinle road were armed with placards as they chanted various solidarity songs.
They called for the arrest of the driver of the bullion van.
The angry youth thereafter headed to the palace of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, to express their displeasure over the incident. They appealed to the police to reveal the identity of the driver of the bullion van.
Addressing the protesters, the chief of staff to the monarch, Chief Toyin Aladetoyinbo, appealed to the youth not to take the law into their hands, saying the palace would ensure police got to the root of the matter.
A brother of the deceased, Mr Segun Marcel, described the incident as unfortunate and called on the state police command to launch a manhunt for the hit-and-run bullion van driver.
He said: “This is sad. When the incident happened yesterday (Thursday), it took the police over three hours to come over to the hospital and they could not tell us the bank the bullion van belongs to. We are demanding justice and they should ensure justice is done on the incident.”
One of the friends of the deceased, Michael Lawrence, said the driver of the bullion van left its lane to hit Alonge and left him unattended to after hitting him.
He said: “When the bullion was coming, he tried to move aside but they just hit him beside the road. Bullion van drivers are reckless on the road; the government should put a check on this and we want justice to be done on this matter.”
