Polytechnic Students Threaten Nationwide Protest Over Dangote Truck Accident Involving Auchi Graduate

The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has announced plans for a nationwide protest following an accident involving a Dangote truck and a young graduate of Auchi Polytechnic, Ruth Otabor.

The tragic incident occurred last week along the Auchi axis in Edo State, leaving Otabor with severe injuries. She is currently admitted at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital.

Representatives of the Dangote Group and its insurers visited her at the hospital, promising medical care, compensation, and welfare support.

But NAPS says these assurances fall short. In a statement issued by Action Committee Chairman, Olasunkanmi Ijaduoye, and Public Relations Officer, Usman Dende, the association declared its intention to shut down Dangote Cement facilities and outlets nationwide starting Wednesday, August 20.

NAPS insists that Dangote Group must go beyond promises and take concrete action. Among their key demands are:

• Employment for Otabor as an Assistant Director at Dangote Cement Plc after recovery.
• A three-bedroom apartment in Ikoyi, close to the company’s headquarters.
• Lifetime financial and medical support for the injured bike rider.
• International-standard medical care for both accident victims, fully funded by Dangote.
• Compensation and assistance for other victims and families affected by the August 17 crash.

For NAPS, this fight goes beyond Ruth Otabor.

The student body points to the countless lives lost to reckless truck driving on Nigerian highways.

Their broader demands include:

• Building pedestrian bridges with protective barriers in student communities near Dangote routes.
• Installing speed bumps before U-turns around schools.
• Funding FRSC enforcement units near educational institutions.
• Making public the disciplinary measures taken against the driver.
• Overhauling the company’s driver recruitment and monitoring system.
• Publishing regular road safety audits for public accountability.

NAPS has framed the planned protest as a movement for justice and accountability, urging Nigerians to join.

“This protest is not just for Ruth or the injured bike rider,” the association said. “It is for every Nigerian who has died because of reckless truck driving, for every family forced to bury a loved one due to avoidable accidents.”