Several automobile technicians at the Ajebo Mechanic Village in Abeokuta on Thursday embarked on a protest over the killing of three of their colleagues at Kemta by a truck driver.
The technicians, who are members of the Nigeria Automobile Technicians Association (NATA), blocked the Ajebo/OGTV road and insisted on not allowing trucks to ply the road again.
They stated that they would only budge when there was a concrete solution found to eliminating the series of accidents experienced around the area by the Ogun government.
Speaking with newsmen, the Ajebo Mechanic Village Chairman, Saheed Arulogun, said the technicians were tired of needless loss of lives due to the recklessness of truck drivers.
“We came out today to express our sadness and frustration over these truck drivers’ actions which have continued to cause avoidable loss of lives on this Ajebo/OGTV road.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), at about 6:30 p.m, one of the truck drivers ran over three of our members who just closed from work and were on motorcycle going home.
“These (the dead) were human beings, breadwinners in their respective homes, and this must not be allowed to continue,” he said.
Arulogun then advised the state government to restrict the movement of trucks on the road to 11 p.m.
Reacting to the development, Omolola Odutola, Spokesperson of the Police Command in Ogun, confirmed that the protest followed grievances emanating from the fatal motorcycle/truck accident of Wednesday
She explained that, with the accident victims being members of the mechanic village, the Police were able to assist and put the protest under control by ensuring it did not escalate
“Presently, everything is under control,” Odutola said.
