The Ogun State Government has accused Nollywood actor Kunle Afod of spreading falsehood about the emergency response to a road crash at Saapade, insisting that an ambulance and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) officials got to the scene within 10 minutes and not 20 as he claimed.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the government responded to a video Afod posted online after the accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday. The actor had alleged that there was no ambulance at the scene and that no help came for about 20 minutes.
According to the government, a passerby reported the crash at the FRSC point in Ogere at 12:18 p.m., and a state ambulance and FRSC personnel reached the scene at 12:28 p.m. after turning onto the opposite carriageway. It added that the state’s emergency medical service maintains six ambulance points between OPIC and Ogunmakin.
The statement said victims were taken to Victory Hospital in Ogere, while those with serious injuries were moved to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu. The police and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) also took part in the response, it said.
The government went further, accusing Afod of playing politics with the tragedy. It claimed he supports the PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and made a campaign video for him days before the crash. “A partisan Nollywood actor chose to purvey falsehood out of spite,” Akinmade said.
Akinmade added that Afod was free to back any candidate, but partisan views should not colour comments on an incident involving injured people. The government also said its emergency call centre received no distress call from that stretch of road about the crash.
The state urged motorists to avoid speeding, dangerous overtaking and reckless driving, and asked residents to report emergencies on 08112000033. It noted that the national 112 emergency line is not yet active in Ogun because the Nigerian Communications Commission has not activated it.
Afod’s own response to the government’s statement was not available at the time of this report.
The post Ogun Govt Fires Back At Kunle Afod, Says Ambulance Reached Saapade Crash Scene In 10 Minutes, Accuses Actor Of Politicising Accident appeared first on Information Nigeria.