The United States Embassy has confirmed that the convoy of former
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, collided with a suburban
jeep belonging to the mission on Monday.
The Senior Information
Specialist in the embassy, Sani Mohammed, said local authorities had
commenced investigation into the accident.
When asked about the condition of the driver and the vehicle involved in the crash, Mohammed said he did not know.
He
said, “A US embassy vehicle was involved in the accident. We are
staying in touch with local authorities who are investigating, but I
don’t know the condition of the driver and the vehicle.”
But the
Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Federal Road Safety Corps, Bisi
Kazeem, said seven adult males were involved in the crash, adding that
three of them including Akpabio sustained injuries and were taken to the
hospital.
“A suburban jeep and a Mercedes Benz SUV were involved
in the accident; the suburban was towed to the embassy while the Benz
SUV was towed to the Central Police Station. Our accident investigation
team has already commenced investigation, so it is too early to know the
cause of the accident,” he said.
Akpabio, who is currently the
Minority Leader of the Senate, was involved in a car accident in the
early hours of Monday on his way to the airport to catch an
international flight.
One of our correspondents learnt that his
car ran into a convoy of some US embassy officials while trying to beat
the traffic light.
An officer of the FRSC, who craved anonymity,
told one of our correspondents that the occupants of the vehicles in the
convoy of the US embassy and Akpabio’s driver did not sustain any
injury but that the senator suffered some injuries in the chest region.
The
FRSC officer, who was at the scene of the accident which occurred
around 7.25am near the Bolingo Hotel, along Abuja Airport Road, in the
Central Business District of the FCT, stated that Akpabio was
immediately rushed to the National Hospital for an intensive care.
One
of the senator’s aides, who was sighted at the National Hospital on
Monday, told one of our correspondents that Akpabio was travelling
outside the country to visit his wife and children when the accident
happened.
The Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi, who
was one of the early callers at the hospital, explained that medical
personnel at the hospital told her that the Akwa-Ibom North-West senator
was in a stable condition.
Also, the current Governor of Akwa
-Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, who was sighted at the hospital, did not
speak with journalists when he got there around 12.10pm.
The
Chief Information Officer of the National Hospital, Hajia Rabiah
Labaran, told journalists that Akpabio was brought to the hospital by
some FRSC officers who rescued him from the scene of the accident.
Labaran
said, “He (Akpabio) was brought in this morning after he had a car
crash as I learnt. He was brought in from the Bolingo Hotel junction,
where a vehicle crashed into his own vehicle from behind.
“When
they brought him we conducted a check on him and the result showed that
he did not have any serious injury. He was talking when he was brought
in and they gave him necessary attention at the trauma unit.
“I
learnt that as of this afternoon (12:30pm), he was taken to the private
wing of the hospital for proper care but there was no serious injury.
“It is something he can come over in a few days. He is currently recuperating,” she added.
A
source, however, told one of our correspondents last night that Akpabio
had been discharged from the hospital. The source, who is one of the
aides of the senator, said he was discharged from the hospital around
4pm after the doctors had certified him fit to continue treatment after
the necessary prescriptions.
But Labaran declined further comments on Akpabio’s treatment when contacted last night.
