The Police in Abia and Bayelsa States have reportedly absolved a popular Peace Mass Transit, PMT, of complicity in the auto crashes which led to the death of 23 passengers, on 22nd and 29th June, in Umuahia and Bayelsa, respectively.
It would be recall that a PMT bus had crashed with a MAN Diesel truck at Umuahia, killing
14 passengers while 9 other persons were also killed when a Mercedes Benz truck
collided with another bus belonging to the company in Bayelsa state.
However, a police interim report signed by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Akinima, Bayelsa State, ASP Okon Etim, entitled; ‘Re- Case of fatal motor accident involving a Toyota Hiace bus with Reg no. , ENU 586 XB and a Mercedes truck with Reg. no NZN 109 XA, and another report from the State Traffic Office, Police headquarters, Umuahia, signed by Olatubosun Gbenga, the Police said the driver of the MAN Diesel truck was over speeding and
drove recklessly leading to the crash at Umuahia while in Bayelsa, the driver of the Mercedes Benz truck swerved from his lane to the lane of the PMT bus where it had a head on collision leading to the death of nine passengers.
“On the report of the accident, the scene was visited, sketch map was drawn, corpse deposited at the Federal Medical Centre morgue, Umuahia.
Accident vehicles were recovered for VIO’s investigation. Photographs of the vehicles and scene were taken. On the Bayelsa accident, the corpses were deposited at Paradise Mortuary Services, Zarama. The truck driver, Samuel Kalu is culpable and will be charged to court as soon as he
recovers.”
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PMT, Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, while addressing pressmen in Enugu said the company has been in a mourning mood since the accidents and however lamented the outcry against PMT even when its drivers were not culpable in the two accidents.
Onyishi said, “Nobody cared to ask questions about the cause of the accidents or the truck driver; what everybody is saying, Kill Peace, kill Peace. There has been uproar from our customers and the public. We are not unaware of calculated attempts to bring us down. We are blamed even people kill my drivers and passengers. It is only the government agencies that took a different position. The Police and FRSC have released their released their reports on the accidents, now everybody have seen that PMT drivers were not the cause of the accidents. People judge us from outside because they are aware of these facts.”
He further disclosed that PMT have well maintained buses fitted with speed limiters while her drivers are regularly trained on safety measures and appealed to the public to continue to support the company.
“I want to be among the people who developed this country. I started as a bus driver and stopped driving when we got 18 buses. From two buses in 1995, PMT has over 3,000, moving passengers across 26 states. All the money I make, I invest them in motor parks and buses to create jobs. I have created jobs in over 26 states. PMT has over 4,000 employees. In Nigeria, every staff has at least 4 dependents. If so much hatred and wickedness is meted out on me, is it an incentive for us to continue to invest? It is painful.”
He maintained that the company operates a safety scheme for passengers and does not fail in reaching out to the injured and bereaved families.
