CITIZENS COMPASS– Amidst tears, the remains of the newlyweds who died in an explosion on Otedola Bridge, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, were on Saturday, laid to rest.
The groom, Dozie Okoye, was a staff of Zenith Bank, Ladipo branch, in Lagos while the bride, Joan Gusiora, was a nurse in the United States of America(USA) who was to return to her duty post last Friday.
Both tied their reception on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at the Momoh Gardens, 18, Wole Olateju Crescent, Lekki Phase 1 in Lagos.
They tied the nuptial knot the same day at the Saint Jude’s Anglican Church on Ademola Ajasa Street, Omole Phase 1, Ikeja.
Both hailed from Agulu Village, Anaocha Local Government, and Enugu-Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government in Anambra State.
Both were said to be caught up in the gas explosion of Tuesday, March 11, 2025 on their way home.
It was learnt that the car in which they were travelling was behind the ill fated tanker that exploded. Family and friends said the couples’ phones suddenly went off and nobody could reach them, setting off apprehension amongst their friends who eventually tracked them at the Burns Center in Gbagada and Yaba Mortuary, where their charred remains were finally found barely 24 hours after the explosion.
It was gathered that the only means of identification that gave a clue to their whereabouts was when the search party finally discovered their car, which was found among the burnt vehicles at the scene of the incident, through the registration number.
An associate of the couple who pleaded anonymity was quoted thus, “The wife was due to go back to her base (USA) last Friday. I don’t have many details. Dozie started work that particular Tuesday after his wedding.
“The wife left her father’s house at about 4.00pm to meet him, that is for Dozie to pick her on his way back from work. That was the last anybody heard from them. Until the next morning when Dozie could not report at the office as he normally comes on time, that was when his colleagues started calling his line without success. At this point they got in contact with his relation to know if there was any information about him. That was how the search started. With news of the tanker explosion the previous day, they extended the search to the scene of the explosion where his burnt car was found,” a family member told WhirlwindNews.
Expectedly, family, friends and close associates of the couple have remained in mourning ever since, with the parents totally inconsolable as they contemplate how a life which began on a promising note for the youngsters who looked into their future with such great hope on that February 22, when they took their vow before the world could end on such a sad note in a swift, sudden and painful way. See how some of the grieving friends captured it.
MC the young wrote: “My classmate who i attend her wedding last 3 weeks died in a gas explosion caused by a tanker at Otedola bridge Lagos. Joan ur village people who did this to you will never know peace. My heart is heavy. I love you so much. You are supposed to go back to your base in the USA on Friday.
Nelly Kelly: “Outbreak at Otedola Bridge. Otedola bridge took a vibrant soul away from Ladipo Oluwole Zenith Bank. Please come back to us. Two weeks you did your wedding and resumed yesterday and same yesterday you said goodnight to us along with your wife? Otedola bridge took a newly couple from us.”
Again, the story brings to the fore the contradictions in life. Dotun Oladipo, versatile journalist and Publisher of The Eagle Online, one of Nigeria’s leading online newspapers, had last week penned down how he and his wife and daughter escaped the same fate by a stroke of chance, having headed in the same direction only to divert towards a different road minutes before the explosion.
But while the media guru was lucky, Rotimi Adeleye, his mechanic who had fixed one of his cars was not as he was caught in the inferno, before he could escape. Devastated and distraught, Oladipo had prayed for the repose of the souls of the victims. But, how easy would it be for the family members of these victims, especially the Okoyes? Tragic!
WhirlwindNews.
