The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Aba-Ikot-Ekpene

  • Army van knocks down Woman in Abia

    It was a sad day in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State as a hilux van belonging to the Nigerian Army allegedly knocked down a yet-to-be identified female pedestrian said to be apparently heading towards her home at Ogbor Hill part of the city.

    The incident our reporter gathered, took place at the popular Waterside Bridge along Aba/Ikot-Ekpene Expressway on Friday evening.

    Sources at the popular Aba abattoir located within the area stated that the incident happened at about 6PM when the soldiers were driving against traffic as there was gridlock that usually greet the Aba-Ikot Ekpene axis of the expressway especially in the evening, though they alleged that the heavy gridlock was because of the presence of a police team at the end of the bridge, conducting stop and search operation.

    Read Also: Woman accused of squeezing manhood

    According to the sources, the soldiers immediately rushed out of their van to carry the victim into their vehicle to unknown destination.

    The sources who could not ascertain whether the soldiers were responding to a distress call said that the woman’s chances of survival were slim because of the impact of the accident on her as she was said to be bleeding when she was taken off the scene by the soldiers.

    A source who claimed to have witnessed the accident said that it could have been avoided if only the soldiers were not on a high speed even while they were driving against traffic.

    According to the source, the over-speeding patrol van rammed into the woman while she was trying to cross over to the other side of the road.

    “This accident could have been avoided if the army van didn’t drive against traffic. They were not only driving against traffic, they were also over- speeding.

    “There was a heavy traffic at the bridge as usual every evening. The soldiers decided to ply one-way with heavy speed. I wonder why a good driver who is plying one-way on a double lane road will still be over- speeding?

    “I don’t know why soldiers are always in a hurry in the streets of Aba when their vehicles are moving. They always want all of us to disappear whenever they’re passing notwithstanding the circumstances. I don’t know if that woman will survive.”

    Adding his voice, another eyewitness who simply gave his name as Lucky said, “Everyone shifted behind when they noticed it was an army van that hit the woman.

    “Aba people were getting agitated and the situation almost escalated, but most of us reasonably moved away from the scene as they carried the body into their van.

    “You know how they behave. If you try to ask questions or even make some moves that may even help them, they could tag you anything and waste your precious life.

    “May be they took her to hospital, but I expect them to reach her family as soon as possible and tell them what happened to her because it was an avoidable accident.”

    A military who pleaded anonymous debunked the insinuations that the woman was dead, but stated that she was rushed to a private medical facility where she was promptly attended to.

    Though the source could not ascertain whether the soldiers were responding to a distress call when probed on why the soldiers were driving against traffic as alleged, it disclosed that the woman who is a sister-in-law to a top officer in a sister security agency was moved to Port Harcourt, Rivers State Saturday morning on the directives of her brother-in-law.

  • Update: Businesses close as soldiers, butchers clash in Aba

    Update: Businesses close as soldiers, butchers clash in Aba

    Economic and business activities were on Thursday in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State shutdown as butchers at Popular Waterside, along Aba-Ikot Ekpene road clashed with soldiers for allegedly killing two of their members.

    The incident which occurred between the hours of 12pm or thereabouts caused pandemonium within the area and Ogbor Hill axis causing many business owners to close for businesses as they feared that the situation could take another dimension and fear of massive arrest by the security agencies.

    It was gathered that some butchers that sustained injuries as a result of the gunshots and sporadic shootings were taken to different hospitals within the metropolis where they are receiving medical attention as at the time of filing this report.

    Efforts to reach the leaders of the market proved abortive, but sources around the area told our reporter that some of the leaders of the butchers association were at the Aba Area Command of Nigeria Police Force where the body of one of the dead members was taken to after police took the corpse from some of the protesters had wanted to demonstrate round the city with the body.

    Information has it that the situation which started taking ethnic and religious coloration forced many Hausas to flee for safety at the nearest police division, while security agencies moved into areas domiciled by the Hausas with their Hilux vans and moved them to the Aba Area Command where they were said to be taking refuge in the event of any reprisal attack.

    When our reporter visited the Aba abattoir at Waterside, Mosque by Hospital road and other flash points within the metropolis, Hilux vans of various security agencies were stationed at strategic points to apparently forestall any breakdown of law and order or hoodlums ceasing the opportunity to unleash mayhem on residents.

  • Repair Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road

    Repair Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road

    This is an appeal to Governor Theodore A Orji who has been ruling Abia State with wisdom and patriotism, two attributes which make a governor great.

    He has done a lot for the poor through his progressive ideas which have successfully transformed the state. I must commend the good governor for making dividends of democracy available to the masses of the state.

    But there is one important thing I want the governor to do for my people. I want him to repair the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road. This is a major road in Abia State.

    People of the state will not forget you, if you put the road in good shape.

    Therefore, I am expecting work to start on the road soon.

    Pastor Akpan,

    Vice Chancellor’s Office,

  • Motorists rue poor roads in Aba

    Motorists rue poor roads in Aba

    Motorists and pedestrians have lamented the poor state of federal and state roads in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.

    They expressed the fear that if nothing urgent is done to fix failed roads in the city, road users might find it difficult to move around or go about their normal businesses when the rainy season sets in.

    Some of the residents who spoke to our correspondent said the condition of major roads connecting the commercial town with its neighbouring states of Akwa Ibom and Rivers states may cost the city its fame.

    They expressed the view that if nothing was urgently done by the federal and state to fix the dilapidated road network, economic activities and volume of trade in state would drop severely.

    “Everybody knows the importance role Aba plays in the sustenance of the state and Nigeria’s economy. Aba and Onitsha are the two markets we Igbo can boast of. Abia State and Federal Government should not allow our roads to degenerate more than it is now.

    “Aba-Ikot-Ekpene and Aba-Abayi-Ohabiam roads are two major entry and exit points into and from Aba which generates a lot of revenue for the state and the Federal Government. We are really suffering because of the situation of these roads. Business is seriously nose-diving in Aba.

    “Most of our customers are now going to nearby cities of Onitsha and Akwa Ibom to buy their goods to avoid the stress associated with these roads,” a resident told our correspondent.

    Investigations revealed that motorists and commuters coming in and out of Aba from Akwa Ibom State and Port Harcourt were subjected to harrowing situations as the entry points to Aba from the two neighbouring states are heavily flooded, making it inaccessible for motorists and commuters.

    It was also revealed that youths in some of Abia communities along the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road collect toll fees from drivers for making use of their local roads, a situation that has been condemned by motorists.

    An electronic dealer at the Orie Ohabiam market, who identified himself as Joseph, lamented the hardship traders experience on the road. He disclosed that some of the traders now board public vehicles instead of using their own vehicles because of the poor state of Aba-Abayi-Ohabiam Road.

    A resident of Uratta Junction said: “Port Harcourt Road has become a source of anguish and sorrow for most residents in the area. There was a time the state government rehabilitated the road. We were happy, but our happiness was short-lived because the road collapsed in less than a year after its construction. “It became bad that we started questioning the quality of job that the contractor carried out. If the state and Federal Government will come to our aid, it will be a welcome development.”

    A motorist that plies Aba to Port Harcourt lamented: “Roads in Aba are in a sorry state. Expressway from Aba to Port Harcourt is also in a sorry state. Sometimes we wonder if the state and Federal Government have abandoned us to our fate. They should come to our aid.

    The Director, Federal Ministry of Works in Abia State could not be reached for comments on the matter as he was not in his office when our reporter visited their Amakama Office near Umuahia, the state capital.

    However, a staff of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) who spoke to our correspondent in confidence because he was not competent to speak to the press on the matter said before the rains, they had started what he described as palliative work on the two roads to reduce the sufferings of road users.

    The source also stated that soon, a contractor will be mobilised to the two sites, as arrangements were being made to ensure that commuters drive in and out of Aba on good roads.

    Recall that Abia State government had recently called on the Federal Government to immediately commence work on the reconstruction of all federal roads in the state, especially the Aba/Ikot Ekpene and Port Harcourt.

    It was learnt that the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Emeka Longman Nwachukwu was quoted to have said that the deplorable state of federal roads in the state which serve as links to other neighbouring states were not only causing embarrassment to the state government, but also affecting commercial activities in the state, adding that the huge sum of money expended by the state government on maintaining the roads are yet to be reimbursed by the Federal Government.

    Nwachukwu said many roads are being constructed in Aba, even as he warned Aba residents to stop the habit of building structures on drainage system.