Tag: injured

One person was killed at the weekend in a fire that gutted a building on Agbe Street, Olodi Apapa, Lagos.

One person was injured.

The fire started around 7:30pm and raged on for over 90 minutes.

It was suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Fire fighters, who rushed to the scene, were allegedly attacked by hoodlums, who claimed they arrived late.

Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Southwest, Ibrahim Farinloye, decried the increasing attack on emergency workers in Lagos.

Farinloye said: “The firemen were trying to fight the fire from the base, but area boys told them to fight it from the top. The hoodlums struggled to collect the fire hose and attacked the firemen.

“Efforts to locate a water hydrant to refill our water tanker failed, as no one could direct us to any hydrant. This assault is the third on fire-fighters in three weeks.

“At Ketu plank market, a fireman was critically injured and was hospitalised. A similar incident occurred at the Alade Market, where area boys destroyed fire-fighting equipment while trying to seize them from the fire-fighters.

“The refusal of Lagosians to give emergency workers access to disaster scenes is making prompt response difficult. The crowd at disaster scenes is often difficult and uncontrollable.

“Motorists ignore emergency vehicle sirens and obstruct the movement of emergency workers. Emergency workers are human beings, who have families, and they will be mindful of their safety as they struggle to save other people’s lives.

“Threatening their safety will jeopardise their eagerness to respond to disasters in the future unless there is an attitudinal change by Nigerians.”

NO fewer than two persons were feared dead in a road accident at a military check point in Narabi village on the Bauchi/Jos Road in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State. Seven others were injured.

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Henry Sunday Olatunji, addressed reporters yesterday in Bauchi on the incident.

The Narabi Check Point, which is about 20 kilometres from Jos, the Plateau State capital, has become a notorious accident spot.

Over 260 lives and 50 vehicles are said to have been lost at the junction between 2011 till date.

Last month, eight people died in an accident at the same spot. It prompted Bauchi State lawmakers to set up a committee to investigate the causes of accidents at the junction and report to the Committee of the Whole House for appropriate action.

The committee has not submitted its report, it was learnt yesterday.

Explaining the cause of the accident, Olatunji said: “The accident occurred yesterday in the night. It involved 13 people who were in a truck belonging to a foremost Nigerian company. The driver of the truck was said to have lost control at the Military Road Block and veered off. The truck fell on its side. Two persons died on the spot while seven others sustained various injuries. But four others escaped unhurt.”

The FRSC chief said the sector’s personnel at Toro conveyed the dead and the injured to Toro General Hospital for treatment.

He urged motorists to obey traffic regulations to minimise accidents.

IT was a narrow escape for nine mobile policemen in Kano yesterday. Their patrol van was ambushed by unknown gunmen, who engaged them in a gun duel in Sharada Industrial Estate, on the outskirts of Kano at about 7am.

The officers were rushed to the Armed Forces Specialist Hospital.

The victims were being conveyed to their various duty posts before the unprovoked attack by the gunmen, believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect.

The ambush came on the heels of Tuesday’s attack on a woman police officer, Maimuna Yusf. She was shot dead by gunmen while fixing her car’s tyre at the GSM Village at the Farm Centre.

The attackers immediately disappeared from the scene to frustrate their arrests by other officers.

Some civilians, mostly passers-by, were allegedly hit by stray bullets fired by the fleeing militants.

Spokesman to the Kano State police Command, Magaji Majiya, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the incident but said no arrests had been made.

The scene of the attack was immediately cordoned off by the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police who combed the area for possible arrests of suspects. Majiya said there was no arrest yet.

One of the injured police victims on admission at the Armed Forces Specialist Hospital who demanded anonymity commended the courage of the driver. He said they would have been killed if the driver had not controlled the truck that was coveying them. “It was hit severally by explosives and bullets. His bravery prevented the truck from somersaulting as they all laid flat to avoid been hit by bullet,” he said.

Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu visited the victims at the hospital.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader was in Kano to sympathise with the Emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero over the attack on his convoy that took him to London for 38 days.

Factions of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) yesterday clashed in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, over the leadership of some parks.

It was learnt that about 5:30am, the leader of one of the factions invaded Kuto and Ita- Oshin parks with thugs, who attacked their rivals with charms, knives, guns and other weapons. Seven persons were injured and over 20 vehicles destroyed.

Residents and early commuters scampered to safety.

The quick intervention of the police and men of the State Security Service (SSS) restored peace to the areas.

It was learnt that the injured were taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba.

Sources said 14 persons have been arrested in connection with the clash.

RTEAN Chairman Mugisu Akinpelu told reporters that the attack was sponsored by a factional leader, who was barred from parading himself as the union’s chairman.

Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said five persons were injured. He warned RTEAN members against violence.

Adejobi said: “The Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye, warns the transport unions against hooliganism and violence. Five people were injured in the early hours of today (yesterday) at Ita-Oshin and Kuto parks when some union members engaged in a free-for–all.

“The quick response of the police stopped the violence and restored normalcy to the areas. The police rescued those injured and took them to the hospital.

“The command will investigate the incident and prosecute those found culpable. The command assures Ogun people of security always.”