Ikesima Brown, a popular Niger Delta highlife singer, and five members of the Ijaw musical group Chief Barrister Smooth died in a horrifying car accident.
According to information, the incident happened on June 11, 2023, as the band members were traveling from Warri to Abuja for a concert.
The band’s bus collided with a fuel tanker while traveling to the concert on the Abuja–Lokoja expressway.
According to reports, a state government had hired the unlucky car carrying the popular band to play at the National Assembly members’ swearing-in event in Abuja on Tuesday.
The band members reportedly boarded a train from Warri to Kogi and were headed to Abuja when their Toyota Sienna automobile smashed into a petrol tanker, killing them. This is according to an eyewitness story.
Chief Joseph Ekeremieye, Ikesima Brown, Ebis Awiki, Sololo, Tuku Eniekebi, and one other person have been named as the deceased.
The governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, expressed his profound sorrow over the twin accidents that resulted in the deaths of no less than 10 Ijaw natives.
In a statement released on Monday by his chief press secretary, Daniel Alabrah, Diri referred to the terrible tragedy as a “Black Sunday” for the Ijaw people and the state of Bayelsa.
The governor of Bayelsa also expressed his sympathies to the families of the deceased and to Barrister Smooth, expressing his understanding that the state had suffered a huge loss in losing these young people who were actively influencing lives via their musical skills.
He said, “In one of the crashes along the Kogi-Abuja road, six band members of the popular Ijaw musician, Barrister Smooth, died, while the other accident along the Kwale-Asaba highway in Delta State claimed the lives of four supporters of the Bayelsa Queens Football Club.
“On behalf of the government and people of Bayelsa State, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased. I also commiserate with the leader of the band, Barrister Smooth. These are very unfortunate and sad incidents that claimed the lives of our active youths.
“It is a great loss to our state and the Ijaw nation as young talents and breadwinners, who were following their passion, have suddenly departed. I pray that the Lord consoles the families for the painful loss that they have suffered. I also pray for quick healing and recovery for those who were injured.”