As Nigerians revelled in the activities marking the birth of Jesus Christ, tragedies were recorded in different parts of the country on Christmas Day.In Lagos, the family of Boluwatife Oyeleye, a final year Urban and Regional Planning student of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, was thrown into mourning as she was killed by a hit-and-run driver in the Ajah area of Lagos.
One of our correspondents learnt that the 23-year-old had just alighted from a vehicle and was about to cross the Lekki-Ajah Expressway at the Ilaje-Ajah end when she was hit by a yet-to-be identified driver.
It was gathered that she was dropped by the roadside by a motorcyclist after no motorist volunteered to take her to a hospital and she subsequently died there.
A colleague of the deceased, who identified himself only as Kareem, said Boluwatife was her parents’ only child.
“She was in her final year. We were told that she was listening to music through her earphones and that prevented her from hearing the car’s hoot,” he added.
An official of the Federal Road Safety Corps said the agency received a call about the accident around 9pm.
He explained that on getting to the scene, the officials were informed that her family had been contacted and the body handed over to them.
The FRSC official said, “We got a report about the accident. There is no pedestrian bridge at the point where she was hit. She had just been dropped off by a vehicle and I believe she wanted to cross to the other side of the road.
“Immediately we received an alert, we went there to see if we could assist her to a hospital or know if she had been taken to any hospital around by someone. But the motorcycle riders in the area said her family came to take her remains. It was unfortunate. We heard that she used earphones to block her ears.”
One of our correspondents saw a copy of the victim’s identity card, which identified her as a student of the OOU.
The police spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed the accident.
He noted that Boluwatife’s corpse had been deposited in the Lagos Island General Hospital mortuary.