Fayose, community allege cover-up of Customs officer involved in fatal accident

Some aggrieved members of the Aiyetoro community in Ekiti State yesterday protested to the Ekiti Government House over alleged cover-up of an accident that claimed the lives of two members of the community and injured some others.

The accident has pitted the state governor, Ayodele Fayose, against the Commissioner of Police, Abdullahi Chafe, with the governor and some community members alleging that the police boss was shielding the driver of the vehicle, identified as a Customs officer, from prosecution.

Daily Trust learnt that the Customs officer, whose name was not disclosed, rammed his car into a shop in Ayetoro Ekiti during which the victims lost their lives and some others were injured.

The community gave the names of the dead as Emmanuel Owaremi and Mrs Titilayo Omotoso.

Members of the community alleged that the police, after rescuing the man and another female occupant of the car from the scene of the accident, released them without charging them to court.

This made the aggrieved residents to storm the police station to demand the re-arrest and prosecution of the driver.

Some family members of the victims were subsequently arrested and charged to court for allegedly breaching public peace and attacking the police station.

Gov Fayose expressed sadness over the incident, saying the allegation against the police was weighty.

Addressing the protesters, the governor lamented that the Commissioner of Police could not give a satisfactory answer when he was confronted with the facts of the case.

The Ekiti State public relations officer, Alberto Adeyemi, denied any cover-up by the police. According to Adeyemi, “An accident happened and the driver ran to the police station. We did not even know that he is a Customs officer. They wanted to kill him but we arrested the man and kept him.”