A vehicle in the convoy of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has reportedly killed a seven-year-old girl identified as Saratu Lawal in Akure, Ondo State, during an official visit on Thursday.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts, the tragic incident occurred around Oba Ile area while the First Lady was en route from the airport to the venue of her Renewed Hope Initiative event. Mrs.
Tinubu was in the state to launch the South-West phase of her nationwide program aimed at improving the welfare of women and girls, and to distribute professional kits — including scrubs and Crocs — to nurses and midwives across the region.
Sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that a butter-colored Hilux truck, part of the First Lady’s convoy, knocked down Saratu, a pupil of Islamiyar Arabic School in Shasha. The incident reportedly happened close to the Oba Ile Central Mosque.
“She was rushed to the Oba Ile Primary Healthcare Centre, but sadly, she did not survive,” one source told SaharaReporters.
The girl’s father, Malam Lawali, a local trader at the Oba Ile market, confirmed the incident but said he had chosen to “hand everything to God” in the face of the tragedy.
The body of the deceased has since been released to the family and buried in accordance with Islamic rites.
Efforts to reach the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olushola, for comment proved unsuccessful, as calls and text messages were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.
There has been no official statement yet from the Office of the First Lady regarding the incident.
