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
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