Nigeria's Minister Ocholi, Wife, Son Die In Car Crash

According to Daily Trust, the minister reportedly died today in an accident on his way to Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory. Minister of state for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, also shared his thoughts on the incident this afternoon, tweeting that he and the late minister still met on Friday.

According to Premium Times, the incident occurred along the Kaduna-Abuja highway on Sunday afternoon with the driver and wife in critical condition at Doka clinic which is several kilometres from Kaduna. The minister’s car reportedly had a burst tyre on the run and somersaulted several times before the death was confirmed.

Mr. Ocholi, who was traveling on a private visit to Kaduna in company of his wife and first son, died when his driver slammed on the brakes of his Lexus SUV car while at top speed. 

A source told SaharaReporters that the driver slammed on the brakes after receiving a radio message from the security car behind the minister’s main vehicle alerting him to a low pressure on one of the back tires. The driver’s panicked reaction precipitated an accident as the security vehicle then rammed into the minister’s vehicle, which somersaulted several times, instantly killing Mr. Ocholi and his first son. Mrs. Ocholi was subsequently pronounced dead after she was taken to a hospital. 

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of Information and Culture, when contacted, noted that he was away in Lagos and was trying to confirm the incident. The senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, however, stated that the presidency had been informed, adding: “We are trying to issue a statement on the matter.”

What a great loss to the people of Kogi State, and Nigeria. May God give the family left behind, the fortitude to bear the loss.