James Ocholi: Late Minister’s Driver May Face Prosecution
The
driver of the Lexus SUV in which Minister of State (Labour and
Employment) James Ocholi died may face prosecution, Secretary to the
Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal, said yesterday. Ocholi, his wife and son died in an accident on Sunday on the Kaduna-Abuja road.
An interim report of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) claims
that the driver, James Elegbede, was over speeding and had no license.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the Federal
Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the SGF said the final report on the
accident will determine if Elegbede will be prosecuted.
He said: “As to the issue of whether we would prosecute the driver, yes,
Nigeria is not short of laws; the problem is that Nigerians find it
very difficult to obey the laws.
“There is a speed limit in place and so if anybody chooses not to obey
the traffic laws, of course, it is subject to prosecution by the
agencies concerned. But as to this particular incident, I think we will
leave it until the final report of the investigation comes out.
“But, of course, as we say, accident is accident and nobody goes out
deliberately to summersault and die, but as to allegations you claimed
from the family, we are not aware and anybody who has anything to the
contrary – that they didn’t die in an accident – is free to report to
the law enforcement agencies who will appropriately take it up.”
Lawal said the Federal Government did not extend automatic employment
and scholarship benefits to the driver’s relatives and other surviving
victims because they are alive and still on the government’s payroll.
He said: “The government decided to give employment to the children of
the late minister because he was the breadwinner and the children are
now orphans. On the other hand, the driver survived and the government
is taking care of their medical bills at the National Hospital and they
are also government workers as some of them are policemen, SSS
operatives and
others.
“So they are on salary and are treated free, but God forbids that had
any of them suffered the same fate as those who died, the President
would have willingly included them on the list of beneficiaries.”