Port Harcourt-based media personality Charles Opurum has criticized Nigeria’s emergency response system after witnessing a road accident involving a Rivers Transport Company (RTC) Toyota Sienna along the Port Harcourt–Owerri Road.
Opurum, a reporter with Channels Television who shared his experience on social media, said the accident occurred on Saturday, June 27, 2026, while he was returning to Port Harcourt from the annual general meeting of his old boys’ association in Owerri.
According to him, the RTC vehicle overtook his car near Isiokpo before crashing into a roadside fence just minutes later along the Omagwa section of the highway.
He said he immediately stopped to assist, joining passersby in rescuing passengers trapped in the wreckage. Although no lives were lost, several occupants sustained injuries, including a man whose face was bloodied, a woman bleeding from the ear, and another victim believed to have suffered a broken leg.
Opurum said he promptly contacted the Rivers State Emergency Response Unit, the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, and the police, providing them with details of the accident and its exact location.
Despite assurances that help was on the way, he alleged that emergency responders failed to arrive for more than 30 minutes, leaving Good Samaritans to evacuate the injured in private vehicles to Madonna University Teaching Hospital and other medical facilities.
“For the next 30 minutes, none of these parties showed up. It was some passersby who loaded some of the injured people into a small taxi and moved them to Madonna University Teaching Hospital,” Opurum said.
He noted that officials from the Ikwerre Local Government eventually arrived after initially heading to the wrong location. At the same time, two police officers from a nearby Joint Task Force (JTF) checkpoint responded only after being alerted by passing motorists.
Opurum also expressed disappointment that several political convoys reportedly drove past the accident scene without stopping to render assistance.
Reflecting on the incident, he said he immediately purchased a first aid box upon returning to Port Harcourt, describing it as a personal lesson from the experience.
“This is the sad reality of our existence. The emergency response units need to be active and decentralised so they can reach emergencies within five minutes,” he said.
The media personality urged authorities to strengthen emergency response services, arguing that a faster and more coordinated system would save lives during road accidents and other emergencies.
