Relations move Baba Ijesa out of Ijaiye Hospital

Posted by admin Headlines Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Baba Ijesa

Popular Yoruba comedian, Mr. James Omiyinka, popularly called Baba Ijesa, who was involved in an accident on Sunday, has been moved out of Ijaiye General Hospital, Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the request of his family members.

The auto crash claimed the life of a 23-year-old lady, identified as Surat Shonekan. While the remains of the deceased was deposited at the Ijaiye General Hospital mortuary, the comedian was rushed to the hospital for treatment and later released to the family on Monday.

Baba Ijesa, an employee of the Lagos State Television (LTV) Ikeja, was travelling from Lagos to Abeokuta, when the tragic incident occurred.

The late Shonekan was said to have crossed the road, oblivious of the approaching Toyota Camry car and it rammed into her. She died instantly.

According to an eye witness, Hammed Ogunbiyi, who spoke to our correspondent, the woman was distracted by a phone call she was making while crossing the road.

Ogunbiyi said, “The woman was so distracted by the phone call she was receiving that she didn’t see the car coming at a speed and Omiyinka too did not see her in time. Attempts made to avoid hitting her was not successful as he not only hit her, but the vehicle swerved into a nearby bush.”

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Isaq Salako and a Yoruba actor, Bolaji Amusan, popularly known as Baba Latin, were among the early callers at Ijaiye General Hospital to sympathise with Omiyinka.

Omiyinka’s car, with Lagos State registration number: FA 376 EKY, driven to the Ogun State Motor Traffic Division at Ibara in Abeokuta immediately after the accident.

Investigations by our correspondent at the Ijaiye general hospital on Tuesday revealed that relations of the comedian took him away to an undisclosed hospital in Lagos for convenience.

“He was on admission in the hospital for an incomplete spinal chord injury at the level of the neck. At the time of admission, he had weaklings in all his limbs and with good treatment we believe he will recover. He was quite stable and in good spirit before he was taken away from us as his relations took him to Lagos for their own convenience,” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Police Public Relations Officer for Ogun State Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adebajo, who spoke with our correspondent in Abeokuta on Tuesday, said the accident happened on February 27 around 1.30pm at Kobape Village along Sagamu-Abeokuta Expressway in Ogun State.

According to the PPRO, “The comedian was driving on speed as the pedestrian, one Shonekan Surat, a female of Ijaiye in Abeokuta, crossed the road without proper observation. The woman died instantly on the spot.”

He disclosed that while the remains of the deceased were deposited at the hospital mortuary for proper examination, the Toyota Camry had been taken to Ibara Police Station for custody.wp_posts