A retired Air Vice-Marshal, Olufunsho Martins, and his driver, identified only as Ayodele, have drowned in the Lagos Lagoon. It was learnt that Martins had recently returned to Lagos from the United Kingdom for the burial of his friend’s wife. He was reportedly returning to his house on Funsho Martins Avenue, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, on Saturday, after a meeting in Ikeja, when his Ford Explorer Sport Utility Vehicle had a collision with another car on the Third Mainland Bridge around 11pm.
It was gathered that the victim, who owned Martinos Events Centre and Hotel Suites in Agidingbi, Ikeja, fell into the lagoon with his driver, and was trapped in the mangled vehicle. Their bodies were later recovered by officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency around 2am on Sunday. A source said the occupant of the second vehicle escaped from the scene. He said, “The man (Martins) recently retired from service. He had a house in Ikoyi, but his children are based in the United Kingdom. He came back from the UK on Tuesday for the burial of the wife of another retired air vice-marshal
“He left his hotel in Ikeja and was returning home after a meeting when the vehicle had a collision with another car on the bridge. His SUV somersaulted several times before falling into the lagoon. The occupant of the other vehicle drove off.” The General Manager of LASEMA, Adeshina Tiamiyu, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing. He said, “We received a distress call to our call centre around 11pm and we dispatched our rescue team to the scene. After some time, we recovered the bodies of two men in the car. Their families have been contacted.”
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