The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Benin-Auchi highway

  • Gunmen kill police escort, butcher in Edo

    …Abduct 10 motorists

     

    Gunmen on Thursday evening blocked the Benin-Auchi highway and killed a police escort attached to the just inaugurated 13-man Caretaker Committee of the state Butchers Union in Edo state.

    The 13-man Committee was inaugurated to oversee the affairs of the State Butchers Union by Governor Godwin Obaseki to put an end to the protracted crisis that had rocked the union.

    Read Also:Gunmen hijack commercial bus in Rivers

    Name of the slain policeman was simply identified as Sergeant Jubril.

    Also killed by the gunmen is the Vice Chairman of the butchers’ committee, Comrade Nathaniel Iyamu.

    They were said to have been attacked when their convoy ran into a robbery operation while returning from Afuze in Owan East local government where the local branch of the union was inaugurated.

    An eyewitness said the armed men abducted some motorists while shooting sporadically.

    The incident occurred near Obadan village along the Benin-Auchi highway.

    It was gathered that the police escort had shot into the air to apparently scare the gunmen away.

    The witness said the late police escort ran into the bush alongside others when he was gunned down.

    According to the witness, “The criminal operation lasted for over an hour causing heavy traffic gridlock. Many passengers ran for safety.

    “Some passengers were also robbed of uncountable valuables while some were taken to unknown destination on eye witness account.”

    A member of the committee who pleaded anonymity said the lifeless body of the police was recovered at about 10pm.

    Police spokesman, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident saying the police are investigating the incident.

  • Three die in Edo road accident

    Three persons were confirmed dead Thursday in an accident that occurred at the Ekwu hills along the Bénin-Auchi highway.

    Seven others were said to have been critically injured.

    Witnesses said the accident involved a Toyota Camry car marked CF 404 AKD, a truck laden with fuel marked MUA 308 XA, an 18-seater commercial bus and a black Totoya Prado Jeep marked AKD 902 AS.

    Edo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Anthony Oko, who confirmed the incident, said both the dead and injured were taken to Irrua Specialists Hospital.

    Oko attributed the accident to over speeding.

    He said a team of FRSC officials were drafted to the scene of the crash to remove the debris and help to control traffic.

  • Motorists appeal for repair of Benin /Auchi highway

    Motorists plying the Benin/Auchi Highway on Monday appealed to the Federal Government to urgently repair the Ehor/Ekpoma section of the road.

    The motorists said the plea became necessary due to the deplorable state of the section of the highway.

    The motorists told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they had been undergoing untold hardship from the bad portion of the road.

    They noted that driving within the section had become terrible following the start of the rainy season.

    They said this had increased the travel-time from Benin to Auchi that usually lasted between two hours and two hours and thirty minutes to four hours now.

    The motorists said this was because they had to find an alternative route inside Ekpoma main town, which was fairly better than the highway.

    A motorist, Omo Isaac said, “This has been our predicament since the rainy season started.

    “We wasted so much time trying to navigate the route to get to our destinations.

    “As I speak with you, the Ekpoma section of the highway is impassable.

    “What we do is to pass through another road in Ekpoma town, which is also not in good condition but at least manageable,’’ Isaac said.

    Another motorist, Mr Sunday Amune, decried several articulated vehicles which had broken down on the Ekpoma section of the highway, due to its bad state.

    He said that this had rendered the road impassable for other motorists.

    “Some of my colleagues, who got trapped in the traffic following the rain that fell over the weekend, spent almost the whole day there.

    “As I speak with you, we do not use the highway again. We navigate through Ekpoma main town to come out around Irrua axis.

    “It is really a terrible experience that one is not proud of.

    “`The most annoying thing is that we suffered a similar thing last year,’’ Amune said.

    Mr Dominic Osayi said several motorists had to pass through a longer route of Irruekpen/Afuze to get to Auchi last year.

     

     

     

     

  • Two die in Benin-Auchi highway auto crash

    Two die in Benin-Auchi highway auto crash

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on Tuesday confirmed the death of two persons in a multiple road crash on the Benin-Auchi highway.

    The Auchi FRSC Unit Commander, Mrs Archibong Nseobot, gave the confirmation during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Auchi, Edo.

    Mrs Nseobot said the deceased lost their lives in an accident involving an articulated vehicle, an Infinity jeep, two Toyota saloon cars and a motorcycle, at Aviele in the Etsako-West Local Government Area of Edo on Sept. 7.

    She said the accident was due to speed violation by the drivers and loss of control of the vehicles.

    Mrs Nseobot said that 10 passengers were involved in the accident.

    The Auchi FRSC unit commander, however, appealed to motorists to always obey traffic regulations during and after the ember months.