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,
it's 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.
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