Following the auto accident that led to the death of several students of Ojodu Grammar School, the students yesterday took to the street protesting gruesome death of their schoolmates before the police later came to disperse the aggrieved students.

It was gathered that the students were out to vent their anger on Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) staff, who they alleged were responsible for the accident.

Also, the Lagos State Government has suspended academic activities at the Ojodu Grammar School due to the ugly incident.

The Commissioner for Education, Folashade Adefisayo revealed this while addressing journalists yesterday.

She said that the college would be shut down until January when students would return to write the end-of-term exams interrupted by the incident.

She said, “We need the children to calm down and grieve for now. We will resume in January,” she said.

“It is an internal exam, so they will do tests and we will make up so they can have a continuous assessment. They’ll roll out those tests when they come in January. It’s not disturbing the coverage of the scheme of work.”

Meanwhile, officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) went into hiding as students of the school allegedly attempted to lynch them.

Residents in the area confirmed that the students had been seeking out LASTMA officials since Tuesday, over their alleged involvement in a collision between a truck and multiple students of the school, leaving some dead and many injured.
There were many students in the area as they had just closed from school not too long before the accident happened.

Some of those affected are said to be students from the Babs Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School in the area, where the Ojodu Police Station is also located.

Eyewitnesses alleged that the truck driver was trying to escape from some LASTMA and Road Safety officials when he lost control and rammed into the students.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has denied the involvement of staff of the agency in the truck accident that crushed students on Ogunnusi Road, Grammar School Bus-Stop, Lagos State.

It was learnt that the students were going home after closing from school when the truck ran over them on Tuesday.

This was contained in a statement issued by the General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba, titled ‘LASTMA disowns involvement in Ojodu truck accident – General Manager’yesterday.

Oreagba said the reports were mere allegations that could not be substantiated.

The general manager said, “From the reports we received on the incident, the driver is believed to have lost control of the vehicle, probably because of mechanical reasons. The police are investigating the matter; the public should await their report.

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“LASTMA does not have a traffic management duty post around the accident scene. And all patrol personnel had reported back to base for daily parade as at the time the accident occurred leaving only those at their traffic management posts.”

Oreagba added, “In the various unconfirmed reports in some media, not only LASTMA as an agency was fingered but some other government traffic control agencies and wondered how all these agencies would be in pursuit of one truck, a truck that could be apprehended later, that is, if it had committed any traffic infraction.