Ondo community boils as truck kills 2

The sleepy town of Oka-Akoko in Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State was recently engulfed in crisis as youths protested the death of two of their colleagues killed in an accident by a truck belonging to a Lagos based manufacturing company.
In the melee, not fewer than 10 houses were affected by the fire set on the truck by the aggrieved youths, who bemoaned the frequent rate of accidents on the road.

It was gathered that an Abuja-bound truck from Lagos hit two persons on a motorcycle and killed them instantly. The development spurred the anger of the people of the town who immediately set the truck ablaze and turned the town into a theatre of violence as they moved round the town protesting the frequent killing of their kinsmen on the highway, especially by trucks.
During the protest, the aggrieved youths also set some vehicles and motorcycles ablaze as they claimed that they were fighting against incessant killing of their people by trucks plying the road. The accident, according to a resident of the town, Mr. Wale Gidado, occurred late in the evening and the driver of the truck attempted to escape with the vehicle before he was caught by the youths. This, it was gathered, infuriated the youths of the town who chased the driver and handed him over to the police. It was, however, gathered that the traditional ruler of the town later cautioned the youths against violent protest and appealed to them to maintain law and order.
It was learnt that peace later returned to the town after the police intervened and impounded the truck, although it was not certain whether or not the police made any arrest on the matter.
Residents of the town had recently raised the alarm over incessant accidents on the Lagos/Abuja road. The community also appealed to the Federal Government to enlarge the road in order to prevent accident as one of the leaders of the town, Mr. Gidado claimed that no fewer than 15 people had died from road accidents on the road. Mr. Gidado who claims to be a community leader in the town said vehicular accident has become a routine occurrence on the express road which links the south to the northern part of the country.
The community, it was learnt, was putting pressure on the government to ensure that an accident recovery centre is located in the town to rescue victims of road accidents.