Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, involved in car crash, two aides killed

Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, was on Wednesday involved in a fatal car crash that killed two of his aides.

The accident occurred when Mr Jonathan, who is a special envoy of the regional bloc Ecowas, was leaving the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to his residence in the city.

His spokesman Ikechukwu Eze told the BBC that the former president was not personally affected in the accident.

Mr Eze said it was only the vehicle carrying the policemen that skidded off the road when the driver lost control.

The accident is the latest in a long list of road mishaps involving the convoy of political leaders in Nigeria.

Most recently in March 2021, a driver was killed in an accident involving the convoy of Inuwa Yahaya, governor of Gombe state.

The accident was said to have happened while the governor was returning to Gombe from Bauchi where he had attended a meeting of the North-east Governors’ Forum.

In the same month, one of the vehicles in the convoy of Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, somersaulted during a visit to the Tafawa Balewa LGA of the state.

A total of 10 police officers were in the affected Toyota Hilux van.

Similarly, the convoys of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Godwin Obaseki, Edo state governor, and Babagana Zulum, his Borno counterpart, have also been involved in auto crashes in recent years — with fatalities recorded in all three cases.