•Obaseki condoles with varsity
The management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has confirmed the death of the three of its lecturers in a road crash that occurred last weekend at Abudu village.
Twenty-two persons reportedly died in the accident.
It said the three lecturers were in the Department of Pharmacy and that they were returning from Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Then university’s management gave the names of the deceased lecturers as Prof. Lucky Okunrobo, Head of Pharmaceutical Chemistry; Dr. Godwin Joseph, acting Head of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Dr. Saturday Idemudia, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology.
A statement by UNIBEN’s Public Relation Officer (PORO), Mr. Micheal Osasuyi, said Vice Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orunmwense, expressed shock over the death of the three lecturers.
The statement said Osasuyi commiserated with families of the deceased.
Also, the lecturers and other victims of the accident have been given a mass burial near the site of the accident.
The PRO of the State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) George Otoaviokhai said the victims were buried last Saturday.
He said their families could not identify their charred remains.
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has condoled UNIBEN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, as well as the institution’s management and workers on the death of the three lecturers.
A condolence message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr John Mayaki, reads: “This, indeed, is an unfortunate incident in which several lives, including three members of the academia, have been lost in one fell swoop.
“I, on behalf of the good people of Edo State, commiserates with the Vice Chancellor and management of the institution and families of the deceased lecturers for these great losses.
“Our heart-felt pain also goes out to other families that lost their loved ones in the incident.
“While the state government will liaise with the relevant agencies to know the actual cause of the accident, the state government, however, encourages motorists and other road users to comply with traffic safety measures at all times, especially during this festive period.”