The Ondo State Police Command has refuted claims that a vehicle in the convoy of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was responsible for the death of a young girl in Akure on Thursday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the First Lady was in Ondo State for the launch of the Renewed Hope Initiative Health Programme, during which she distributed 10,000 professional kits — including Crocs and scrubs — to midwives in the South-West region.
In an official statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Olufunmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, the police described the report, originally published by Sahara Reporters, as completely false and misleading.
“The attention of the Ondo State Police Command has been drawn to a false and misleading report published by Sahara Reporters on April 17, alleging that the convoy of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was involved in the tragic death of a young girl in Akure,” the statement read.
Odunlami-Omisanya clarified that preliminary investigations and eyewitness testimonies revealed that the accident was caused by a hit-and-run driver in an unregistered white Lexus vehicle — not by any vehicle associated with the First Lady’s convoy.
She further explained that a witness at the scene immediately pursued the fleeing driver on a motorcycle after the accident, which occurred in the Oba-Ile area of Akure. This account was corroborated by multiple eyewitnesses and by the parents of the deceased.
Additionally, the Command pointed out that Sahara Reporters inaccurately stated that the victim was nine years old, whereas her parents confirmed she was actually seven years old. This, the police noted, further demonstrated the publication’s lack of attention to factual reporting in such a sensitive matter.
In a related development, the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, personally visited the bereaved family, assuring them of a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.
The police spokesperson firmly reiterated that at no time was the First Lady’s convoy involved in the tragic events.
