Three NUJ Officials Die In Ghastly Road Crash InIlesa

Three officials of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) died today
in a road crash in Ilesa, Osun State, officials of the union told
SaharaReporters.
They are: Adolphous Okonkwo, a former national financial secretary;
Kafayat Odunsi, a journalist at the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA)
in Lagos; and Tunde Ojenike, chairman of Radio Nigeria and Ibadan
Network Centre of the NUJ. They were returning to Lagos from a meeting
they had in Abuja when the accident occurred.
The accident occurred at about 4pm as the sojourners approached Osu
town. A rear tyre of the official's bus was said to have
malfunctioned, and the speeding vehicle somersaulted several times
before plunging intothe forest.
Officials say there were several injuries. The survivors were first
taken to the Osun State General Hospital, Ilesa, but were referred to
the Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital (LAUTECH), Osogbo where they are
being treated in the emergency unit.
Gbenga Opadotun, the chairman of the Oyo State council of the NUJ who
was also on the bus, confirmed details of the trip, and that a rear
burst, causing the vehicle to veer off the road, somersaulting about
eight to nine times before finally crashing into the bush.
"It was a terrible experience because we lost three of our members in
theaccident. The rest of us involved in the accident survived by the
grace ofGod", he said.
The chairman of Lagos NUJ, Deji Elumoye, who was also in the crash, is
said to be in critical condition.