Tragedy struck on the Ireshe Road, Ikorodu area of Lagos State when a 10-year-old pupil of Anglican Primary School, Ikorodu, Toheeb Abdullahi, was crushed to death by a truck. source gathered that the victim’s skull was smashed by the rear tire of the truck carrying crates of Pepsi soft drinks. An eyewitness, Suraju Sumonu, said the police had seized his motorcycle on the fateful Tuesday afternoon when he saw the incident.
He said, “The kids were coming back from school when the rough edge of the Pepsi truck hooked the boy’s shirt.
“There was traffic on the road, so the driver of the truck did not know what had happened. He drove forward without knowing the boy had fallen on the ground and his head close to the tyre.
“The truck broke the boy’s skull. It was such a gory sight that people had to quickly cover the dead body with cardboards.”
Our correspondent learnt that policemen attached to the Igbogbo division arrived at the scene and arrested the driver of the truck.
The truck was also taken into the station, which was not far from the scene of the incident.
When PUNCH Metro visited the residence of the boy’s parents on Gbadamoshi Street in the Itupate community, he met the victim’s parents with a group of sympathisers.
Toheeb’s mother, Taiwo, was observing her prayers when our correspondent entered the house.
She later explained that her son, who was in primary five, died due to the careless attitude of the school driver.
She said, “That day, he went to centre, where they usually teach them technical skills. The place is at Itaelewa.
“The usual thing was that the driver that the school employed would carry them from the centre back to the school, from where they would find their way back to their parents’ home.
“That day, there was no teacher with them in the bus. The driver then decided to drop them on the main road and asked them to trek into the school compound which was a few kilometres away.”
The victim’s father, Salami, while fighting back tears, said he had resolved with his wife not to seek redress in court.
He lamented that the firm, which owned the truck, had yet to pay them a condolence visit.
“My boy was a very intelligent boy, as well as a devoted muslim. He was my second child.
“I was at work on the Lagos Island when I received the news. When I visited the police station, I was told the truck driver was in the cell. But let them release him, we have taken this as our fate,” he added.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Toheeb was formerly attending a private school in the area, but his parents withdrew him two months ago and enrolled him in a public school.
It was learnt that the reason was to ease his admission into a government secondary school.
An official of the SevenUp Bottling Company Plc, bottler of Pepsi, who declined identification, denied the allegation that the company did not show any concern.
“The company was fully involved in the boy’s burial. They are Muslims and the boy had to be buried immediately. We foot the bill 100 per cent.
“About N100,000 was paid for the burial and we also paid them a visit yesterday (Saturday), barely a week after the incident happened. The truck, as I speak with you, is still in the custody of the police,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.
He said, “I can confirm to you that one Toheeb Abdullahi, aged 10 years, was crushed to death by a truck. Investigations are already ongoing into the matter.”
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