Tragedy struck the Nigerian music industry as singer Ikesima Brown, also known as the Niger Delta Queen of Highlife Music, met an untimely demise in a ghastly motor accident.
The fatal incident occurred on the Abuja/Lokoja highway near the Kwale community in Delta State, where Brown and six other band members of Ijaw music legend Chief Barrister Smooth lost their lives when their bus collided with a petrol tanker.
News About Nigeria reports that the accident took place on Sunday, June 11, as the band members were en route from Warri to Abuja for a scheduled performance.
The ill-fated vehicle, in which they were traveling, had been hired by a state government for a swearing-in reception of National Assembly members in Abuja on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses at the scene recounted that the band members had initially boarded a train from Warri to Kogi and were continuing their journey to Abuja in a Toyota Siena car when the collision occurred with the fuel tanker.
Tragically, all the occupants of the vehicle lost their lives in the accident. Among the deceased were Chief Joseph Ekeremieye, Ikesima Brown, Ebis Awiki, Tuku, and others.
The news of the accident has left the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, deeply saddened. In an official statement, Governor Diri expressed his condolences and described the incident as a Black Sunday for Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation.
He conveyed his sympathies to the families of the deceased and Barrister Smooth, emphasizing that the loss of these young talents who were actively impacting lives through their musical gifts is a significant blow to the state.
He said, “In one of the crashes along the Kogi-Abuja road, six band members of a popular Ijaw musician, Barrister Smooth, died while the other accident along the Kwale-Asaba highway in Delta State claimed 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 bread winners following their passion had 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 that were injured.”
