46-year-old Adeyemi has shared his pain following the death of his daughter, Adedoyin, an SS2 pupil of Babs Fafunwa Millenium Secondary School (formerly known as Ojodu Grammar School).
Reports gathered that his late daughter was on her way home after school around 2pm, when a hit-and-run truck loaded with soap ran into her and about 14 other pupils.
Following the crash, the truck driver was reportedly arrested while his vehicle was burnt by angry youths who also vandalised about 10 trucks on the road.
Speaking to City Round after the representatives of the state government left, 46-year-old Adeyemi explained that Adedoyin’s death badly affected him and his wife.
He said,
“She was the apple of our eyes; she was our only child. Till now, her mother is still unstable. I am a cab driver. In the afternoon of that day, the vehicle was faulty and I called the owner to inform him. As I was driving home, I saw some of her schoolmates waving at me and shouting ‘Adedoyin.’ They said she was hit by a truck.
I parked the car and took a bike to the scene. I saw personal effects of some pupils at the scene but didn’t see hers. We went to all the hospitals the pupils were taken to but couldn’t find her.
My brother and a relative then went to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. From there, they directed them to the Lagos Mainland Hospital morgue where her corpse was deposited.
I was at the police station when the news of her death was broken to me. I nearly ran mad. It was policemen who held me and tried to console me. She was a very friendly child. She would hug her mum before she left for school. She was a good girl.
The Commissioner for Education came and promised that the government would assist us in any way they could. This is the time my wife needs me most. If I have my own cab, I will be able to make more money to take care of her.”
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