The Nation Newspaper

Tag: road accident

  • Nine dead in Ebonyi road accident

    Nine dead in Ebonyi road accident

    Nine persons, including three members of a family, have died in an accident on the Ishiagu-Awgu road at Ezietor, Amaeze community in Ishiagu, Ivo council of Ebonyi State.

    An eyewitness, Mr. John Okochi, said an articulated vehicle (Anambra JJT143XA) from Ishiagu, collided with a loaded 18-seater bus (Edo SGD541SA) coming from Enugu.

    Okochi, whose relation was involved in the crash, said the driver and eight others died instantly. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

    The victims, indigenes of Ishiagu, were returning from Enugu.

    Okochi, who blamed the incident on poor visibility, caused by a downpour the night before, said: “We lost nine persons on the spot and the bodies deposited at a mortuary in Aki-na-ukwa in Aninri council of Enugu State.

    “Others who sustained injuries were taken to Nyeche hospital in Amaeze. All the victims are indigenes of Ishiagu and the community has been thrown into mourning,” Okochi said.

    Ishiagu Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Mr. Joseph Abuo said investigation of the accident was on to ascertain its cause.

    “There was an accident yesterday, which claimed many lives. I cannot confirm to you the number of deaths but I can assure you that our men are on the crash scene to control traffic,” Abuo said.

     

  • Accident: Auchi Poly denies death of 13 students

    Accident: Auchi Poly denies death of 13 students

    Management of the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi in Ed‎o State has denied reports that 13 of its students died in the road accident that occurred at Aviele village along the Benin-Auchi expressway.

    The accident which occurred on Sunday involved an articulated truck which collided with an 18-seater bus and 13 persons were reportedly killed.

    News of the accident reached students of the polytechnic that 13 students were killed in the incident.

    The students angered by the news protested to the scene of the accident and torched the trailer after the driver fled.

    Another unlucky trailer driver who arrived the scene was beaten to pulp by some of the students, while the tyres of the truck were set ablaze.

    It took the intervention of security operatives within the institution to ‎rescue the driver and calm the angry students.

    Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Oluwasusi Familoni, ‎who confirmed the incident on Monday said he was yet to get details.

    The polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Mustapha Oshiobugie, who debunked the death of 13 students, described it as a wild rumour.

    Oshibugie said none of the polytechnic students lost their lives or sustained injuries in the said incident.

    He said that the demonstration by the students resulted from the rumour ‎but was brought under control when the true position on the issue was confirmed by the school management.

    He said, “No student of the polytechnic died or was injured in the rumoured accident.

    “No accident happened anywhere proximate to the campus.

    “It was a wild rumour that unsettled students and they calmed when they discovered that there was no truth to the story.”

  • Seven die in Edo road accident

    Seven die in Edo road accident

    Seven persons have been confirmed dead in a road accident when a Toyota Haice bus rammed into a packed Iveco trailer at Ute village along Benin-Lagos by-pass.

    The bus with registration number LAGOS EKY-733 XD was said to be conveying passengers from Lagos.

    Witnesses said it lost control and collided with the stationary truck with registration number SMK 799 XN at about 12:30 pm.

    Spokesman for Edo State Police Command, DSP Stephen Onwochei, who disclosed this to newsmen, said bodies of the victims have been deposited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) mortuary.

    He said the casualties included four females and three males including the driver of the passenger bus.

  • Four die in Akure road accident

    Four die in Akure road accident

    Four persons have been killed by a timber truck in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    The driver, identified as Friday Ambrose, allegedly lost control of the vehicle on Ondo Road and hit three of the victims, who were on a motorbike, and a pedestrian.

    It was learnt that two of the victims of the Sunday evening accident, identified as a couple, were businessmen at the Oba Adesida market in Akure.

    Witnesses said the timber lorry was coming from Arakale and heading for one of the sawmills on the road, when it swerved off its lane and faced the opposite direction before hitting the victims.

    It was gathered that the victims died instantly.

    But the driver of the truck with registration number Lagos XN 968 AKD was unhurt.

    Police spokesman Wole Ogodo, who confirmed the incident, said only one person died in the accident.

    Ogodo explained that a victim he simply called Babatunde died at the State Specialist Hospital in Akure, where he was rushed to by sympathisers.

    He added that he had not been officially informed about the death of other victims.

    Ogodo said the driver had been arrested.

  • Student, two others die in road accident

    Student, two others die in road accident

    •Varsity declares two-week break

    A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)  died in an accident on Nsukka Road on Tuesday. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Enugu confirmed that three persons were killed in the mishap.

    The late Miss Nkolika Anatogu Sylvia was 300-Level Veterinary Medicine student. She hailed from Onitsha in Anambra State. The late student was travelling home for a two-week holiday declared by the school.

    Other victims could not be identified as at the time of this report, but their bodies have been deposited at Our Saviour’s Hospital Mortuary by the FRSC personnel, who were assisted by the police.

    Reacting to the incident, the UNN Public Relations Officer, Chief Okwu Omeaku, described the student’s death as shocking, noting that the management shares in the grief of her parents.

    According to the FRSC officers, the accident was caused by a diesel-laden tanker with number plate AWK 311 XB, which was said to have lost control, following a brake failure. The tanker collided with two passenger buses with number plates UWN 406 XA and UWN 57 Xa and a motorcycle, before falling into a ditch.

    The school management, previous day, announced a compulsory two-week holiday, ordering students to vacate the campus, following the announcement.

    A senior member of the management said the holiday was part of the institution’s academic calendar. Academic activities would be suspended for two weeks, after which students would return to write their examination.

    Students said they were not informed about the break, describing it as impromptu. They said management should have informed of its decision a week before the announcement.

  • 11 die in Kwara road accident

    Eleven persons died yesterday in a road accident on the outskirts of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The accident, which occurred at Oko-Olowo, on the Ilorin/Mokwa Road, was said to be a head-on collision between a Toyota Hiace bus and a Turbo truck.

    It was learnt that the victims were inside the bus, with registration number GA 52 XA. Eight others were injured. The trailer’s registration number is XA 939 GZA.

    The single lane road is one of the busiest in Nigeria.

    It is the shortest link between the North and the Southwest.

    The road is plied daily by trailers and commercial buses conveying heavy loads.

    It has several dangerous bends, making overtaking dangerous, especially when visibility is reduced.

    The State’s Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), Mary Wakawa, confirmed the accident.

    She said it occurred at 2am.

    It was learnt that the bus was heading to an unnamed state in the North while the truck was reportedly coming from Kebbi State to Oyo State when the accident happened.

    A farmer, who did not give his name, said: “We heard a big bang around 2am when we were in our hut. But none of us could come out to verify the causes of the noise until dawn when we got to the horrible scene.”

    When our reporter visited the scene at 7:05am, congealed human blood was noticed on the road.

    Foodstuff and clothes littered the scene.

    FRSC officers were seen clearing the blocked road, directing motorists to drive slowly.

    The road safety men were packing the mutilated bodies of the victims into a Toyota Hilux van.

    Eight injured persons, two of whom were suspected to have sustained spinal cord injuries, were carefully evacuated into an FRSC’s ambulance.

    The two evacuation vehicles headed to the direction of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) in Ilorin.

    Wakawa said the death toll was high because the accident occurred in the night and it was a head-on.

    The FRSC commander said the time was odd for a prompt rescue operation.

    She said: “We always caution motorists against night travel. The inherent dangers in it far outweigh whatever gains they claim are in it. We will not relent in this campaign until we get the needed results.

    “We also want to warn drivers against reckless driving. It does no one any good. On this side, a careful driver may be there but his care is incomplete until the other road users on the other side are equally careful. We should also warn those thinking that juju can save them when accidents occur.”

  • Final year student dies in road accident

    Final year student dies in road accident

    Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State was thrown into mourning, following the death of a final year Banking and Finance student. Jenifer  Chinonso Azuh died in an auto accident in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    The news of Jenifer’s death hit the campus like a thunderbolt, leaving lecturers and students in grief. Her classmates wept and wailed endlessly.

    The late Jenifer was recently elected the president of Rotaract Club on the campus but she died before the swearing-in. She was also selected as the chairperson of the fundraising committee for the purchase of OOU Catholic Students’ bus.

    •Students joined Catholic priests in silent prayers after the interment
    •Students joined Catholic priests in silent prayers after the interment

    Last Thursday, her remains were buried in her hometown in Anambra State. Some students attended the funeral, while many stayed back on the campus to say prayers for her.

    The deceased brother, Arinze Azuh, a publisher of Yes! International Magazine on wrote her Facebook wall: “I am tempted to question God, but I won’t. Not today, not tomorrow and not even forever. Never ever will I do that. And in spite of how much death has dared me. My youngest sister, the baby of the house and our last born; the ever cheerful and gregarious Augusta Chinonso Azuh died in an auto crash.

    “I am crest-fallen and devastated beyond words. Yet, I won’t question my God. I won’t even ask anybody why a tragedy of this numbing proportion should visit my family again. And so soon after the demise of our patriarch, Ichie Azuh Chimezie.”

    In his tribute, Austine Falujo, a 500-Level Law student, who spoke on behalf of Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students (NFCS), said: “On that day, she left with the hope of returning to us, but sadly it was the last moment we saw and heard from her. Words cannot express how much we love you but God loves you more.”

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, the NFCS President, Johnson Leonard, described the deceased as friendly, accommodating and hardworking. “I still can’t believe Jenifer is dead. She called me in April and told me she was working on how to get funds for the purchase of our bus. This is very painful. We will really miss her.”

  • Two die in Ilorin road accident

    Two die in Ilorin road accident

    Two persons died yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, in a road accident.

    The accident, which occurred in Irewolede on New Yidi road, involved a Siena space bus, a tricycle belonging to a fast food company and a commercial motorcyclist.

    It was gathered that the driver of the Siena space bus (FST 459 BH), branded with a political party’s logo, veered off the road and hit the oncoming  tricycle and the commercial motorcycle.

    The okada rider and one other person were reported to have died on the spot.

    It was learnt that the driver of the space bus and the tricycle rider sustained head injuries and were taken to the Ilorin General Hospital.

    The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mrs. Mary Wakawa, confirmed the accident. She said: “I can confirm that two people died during the accident. Some people at the accident scene burnt down the bus.”

    The identities of the victims were not immediately known last night.

  • Fayemi’s aide, family in road accident

    Fayemi’s aide, family in road accident

    The Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on Media, Mr. Odunayo Ogunmola and six members of his family were lucky at the weekend– they survived a road accident.

    A truck, laden with sand, lost control and came down a slope to hit Ogunmola’s car in which he, his wife and three children were riding.

    The incident happened at about 7:10p.m near Deeper Life Camp Ground Road, Ajebamidele area by Bolawole Quartres, Ado-Ekiti.

    It left the vehicle conveying the Ogunmolas – a Passat CL car with registration number, Lagos EKY 614 AR – badly damaged while its occupants sustained injuries.

    No life, according to the governor’s aide, was lost.

    Ogunmola, in an interaction with reporters, said they had gone to church for a special programme and was returning home when the accident occurred.

    He said they were driving behind the truck with registration number Ekiti XA769MUE, belonging to Peace and Unity Tipper Owners’ and Quarry Operator (No 126), when it suddenly stopped mid-motion and started coming down the hill.

    Odunayo’s words: “I noticed the truck, a Mercedez Benz product, fully loaded with white sand, suddenly stopped while moving up the hill and started coming down like that, apparently having lost control of its mechanism.

    “I started reversing the car, but the truck kept following me. I quickly swerved to a side of the road I guessed was safe enough. But I was wrong. The truck came down exactly where I packed, hitting the car and sending it, including we occupants, tumbling down.”

    The truck driver, Mr. Adegoke Adeyemo, who attributed the accident to break failure, said: “There was nothing I could do at such an instance. I also did not know where the truck went was where they had parked. I just did not see them at all.

    “I am the driver of the truck. The vehicle came back when it was faulty. There was nothing I could do. When I wanted to park, I mistakenly went to where they stopped and we hit them.”

  • Seven die in road accident

    Seven persons were confirmed dead yesterday in an accident at Ewu slope on the Benin-Okene Road.

    Ewu slope is notorious for fatal accidents. Fifteen persons were killed in an accident at the spot, few weeks ago.

    Yesterday’s accident involved a 15-passenger Toyota Hiace bus belonging to the Edo City Transport Service (ECTS) and a truck.

    Eyewitnesses said 14 persons were killed in the accident, but the State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lucas Ikpi, said seven persons were killed and others injured.

    Ikpi attributed the accident to brake failure.

    Eyewitnesses said the truck smashed the bus against another truck.

    The victims’ bodies were deposited at the morgue of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH).

     The injured were taken to the same hospital.

    Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Edo Central Mike Odiahi advised motorists against careless overtaking at the Ewu slope.