Commissioner dies in car accident after attending funeral

Late Yobe commissioner Goni Lawal

Yobe State commissioner for youths and sports Goni Lawal has died in a car accident.

Spokesperson of the ministry Tijjani Ciroma confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

Lawal was appointed commissioner in 2019. He was a member of House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015.

The 57-year-old died in the accident which occurred on Damaturu-Kano Highway at about 7:30 pm on Tuesday. According to reports, he was returning from a funeral in Damaturu.

Ciroma said the deceased was on his way to Kano to board a flight to Abuja for an official function.

The spokesperson added that funeral prayers for the deceased would be said at Yobe Islamic Centre, Damaturu.

Lawal is survived by two wives and many children.

Governor Mai Mala Buni’s spokesman Babagana Mai-Modu said the commissioner’s corpse has been deposited at the mortuary of the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital Damaturu.