Kunle Afod Faces Ogun Government Rebuttal Over Saapade Crash Response

The Ogun State Government has challenged actor Kunle Afod’s account of the emergency response to a crash near Saapade on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Afod had said responders took about 20 minutes to reach the scene; the state says they arrived within 10 minutes of being notified. In a statement issued on Saturday, November 7, 2026, Kayode Akinmade, the governor’s special adviser on media and strategy, said a passerby reported the accident at the FRSC point in Ogere at 12:18 p.m. State ambulance staff and Federal Road Safety Corps personnel arrived at 12:28 p.m., the statement said, after taking a route across the opposite carriageway to reach the location. The government said its emergency ambulance service operates six points between OPIC and Ogunmakin, but its call centre did not receive a distress call from that stretch of road about this crash. People injured in the incident were taken first to Victory Hospital in Ogere, while those needing more serious care were transferred to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu. Police and TRACE officials also attended, according to the statement. The state expressed sympathy to those affected and wished the injured a full recovery. It also urged drivers to avoid speeding, risky overtaking and reckless driving, and reminded the public to use the state’s emergency contact line. The statement said the national 112 number had not been activated for use in Ogun State. The response became political when the government accused Afod of presenting the incident in a way intended to discredit Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration. It alleged that the actor supports opposition governorship candidate Ladi Adebutu and had recently made a campaign video for him. The statement acknowledged Afod’s right to support a candidate, while arguing that political considerations should not shape commentary about an accident involving injured people and their families. Akinmade described Afod’s claims as politically motivated. The account and allegations are the government’s version of the dispute; the article does not include a further response from Afod.