It was a bloody Christmas celebration in
Lagos and Cross River states as no fewer than nine persons were killed
in auto accidents on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning.
Five
people comprising a baby, her mother, two brothers and a driver died on
Wednesday in the Lagos State accident, while four youths died in the
Cross River accident.
In Lagos, our correspondent learnt that
apart from the five people that perished on Christmas day, another lady
suffered a fracture after a container which was on an articulated truck
fell on a commercial bus on Alaba Suru Road in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun area
of Lagos.
Eyewitnesses said the baby, her mother, the two
brothers and the bus driver, who were victims of the accident, were
returning from the Lagos Island.
It was said the two brothers went to purchase bangers for the New Year celebration
The
crash was said to have been caused by a mentally unstable woman, who
laid in the middle of the road, thereby creating confusion for the truck
driver who was on top speed.
Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Metro that the yellow LT bus, with number plate, MUS-975-XC, had also
stopped by the side of the road to drop off a passenger, which precipitated the accident.
A
resident, Mohammed Wasiu, said, “The incident happened around 8.30am. I
saw the mad woman walking around this morning. She just decided to
sleep on the road at that time.
“The LT bus was going towards Mile
2. There were about eight people in the bus. The driver decided to stop
because someone wanted to get down from the bus.
“As this was
going on, the truck was coming on full speed. There were two trucks; one
was already ahead, so the second truck driver wanted to catch up.
“When
he got to that point and saw the mad woman on the road, he wanted to
avoid crushing her. As he maneuvered the truck, its side hit the bus,
and the container fell on the bus.”
Wasiu said residents
immediately rushed to the scene and began to cut the vehicle with saws
in order to save the occupants who were in pain.
Another
eyewitness, who did not identify himself, said, “The two brothers who
were at the back of the bus were trapped. They had packs of bangers that
they just bought. The woman, who wore a shawl, and was carrying a baby,
could not also escape. They all died, including the driver.
“It was only a lady that was at the entrance to the door that escaped with a fracture.”
After
the accident, angry residents were said to have seized the mentally
unstable lady and beaten her up. Some of the residents said it was the
second time she would trigger such accident. She was, however, rescued
by policemen.
At the rescue operation scene were officials of the
National Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos
State Traffic Management Agency, policemen, and the Lagos State
Emergency Medical Services.
The NEMA spokesperson, South-West
Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye said, “The incident happened at 8.30am, but we
were not alerted till around 11.46am. NEMA was able to mobilise other
rescue officials to the scene. At the end of the rescue operation, a
woman and her baby with two men died, while a lady was rescued alive.
She however had a fractured leg. The corpses have been taken to a
mortuary in Oshodi.”
The police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State, Ngozi Braide, said she would call back to give details on the accident.
In
Cross River, four youths were on Tuesday killed, while several others
were injured after a Mercedes Benz 911 truck rammed into them by the
road side at the Akamkpa area of the Calabar-Ikom highway.
The
incident, which occurred around the state’s college of education in Awi,
Akamkpa Local Government Area, left the community in mourning.
PUNCH
Metro gathered on Wednesday that the truck with number plate, Lagos FKJ
505 XC, was immediately burnt by angry mob, while the driver, Chidi
Duruba, and the truck conductor, Edwin Oragunye, were thoroughly beaten
up.
Two of the injured persons are Blessing Etim and Okechukwu
Mbaka. The whereabouts of the six other injured persons could not be
immediately ascertained.
An eyewitness, Ekam Emmanuel, said,
“About 6am on Tuesday, some youths from Mbarakom community decided to go
for a road walk along the Calabar-Ikom highway.
“A Mercedes Benz
911 truck with the number plate, FKJ 505 XC rammed into them from behind
and the incident claimed four lives on the spot while several others
were injured.
“This incident happened at 6am when I came to clean
my shop. I met the youths jogging on the highway but suddenly a truck
coming from Calabar on high speed climbed on the four that died on the
spot.
“As a result of the tragedy, the Mbarakom youths got angry,
the truck driver and his conducter were almost killed when they stopped
to see what had happened. They were seriously beaten up, while the truck
was set ablaze.”
Emmanuel said another truck, marked
Cross River, KAM 45 XA, was also forcefully stopped by the angry mob and
set ablaze. He added that the driver escaped being lynched.
She
said the anger continued as the youths further burnt another oncoming
Audi 80 commercial car, adding that the intervention of the combined
team of military and police patrol teams brought the situation under
control.
A police officer in the Akamkpa division, Eric Bassey,
who is of the traffic department, confirmed the report. He said, “The
DPO got an early morning distress call that there was a riot going on in
Awi. He immediately gave us orders and on getting to the scene we
discovered that three vehicles were burnt and some casualties were
there.
“The casualties included some dead bodies, while several
others, who sustained injuries, were taken to the hospital for medical
attention.
“We were informed that the driver and the conductor of
the truck that caused the accident were being held hostage at Mbarakom.
We acted swiftly, but discovered that they had been beaten up badly. We
rescued them and took them to the General Hospital at Akamkpa where they
are still receiving treatment.”
He said peace had been restored in the troubled community.
When
contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Hogan Bassey,
confirmed the incident, adding that the police had been able to bring
the situation under control.
She has been on top of her game since her breakthrough into one of
the leading record labels in the country, Chocolate City. Popularly
known as the ‘first lady’, Princess Esindu nicknamed Pryse is currently
making waves in the industry. In this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, the
rapper speaks on her career and fashion preferences. Excerpts:
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has warned striker Brown Ideye that
the competition for shirts in the team is really hotting up, and every
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RESEARCH led by scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, San
Fransisco, United States has identified the precise chain of molecular
events in the human body that drives the death of most of the immune
system’s CD4 T cells as an HIV infection leads to AIDS. Further, they
have identified an existing anti-inflammatory drug that in laboratory
tests blocks the death of these cells — and now are planning a Phase 2
clinical trial to determine if this drug or a similar drug can prevent
HIV-infected people from developing AIDS and related conditions.
