The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Three feared dead

  • Three feared dead in Delta auto crash

    Three persons were feared dead on Saturday in a road accident on Agbarho Bridge, around Agbarho/Okuokoko length of East West Road in Ughelli North council, Delta State.

    The victims were employees of an indigenous construction company returning to Delta State from an assignment in Bayelsa.

    According to sources, there were six persons in the Land Cruiser Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    It swerved off its direction, broke a rail and plunged into the river.

    Three were rescued alive by divers, who swung into action immediately. The others could not be saved by  divers, the Red Cross, police and Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    One of the survivors told The Nation on Sunday morning that they were returning from Bayelsa where they had gone to fix one of their company’s faulty trucks.

    A co-employee of the victims gave the identity of the deceased as Mr Jiwere Godsend Olotu, a cousin to the owner of the firm and a mechanic, Lucky (electrician) and Musa (mechanic).

    Narrating how the accident happened, another survivor, who identified himself simply as Freeborn, said: “We were returning from Bayelsa State when the Jeep suddenly stopped working on top of the bridge. The steering and the brake refused to work before six of us and the vehicle fell into into the river.

    “The driver was not on speed. We had barely dropped one of our colleagues who lives in Agbarho at the junction close to the bridge when the jeep plunged into the river. We were coming from work. We were all mechanics and electricians. We only stopped at Evwreni to eat and no one took drink”, he explained.

    The white SUV,  registered as Abuja DK 653 ABC, was however, recovered and evacuated on Sunday by a team of divers, with the help of a train loader in Agbarho.

    Police Commissioner Muhammad Mustafa confirmed the incident, adding that three persons survived and had been discharged from hospital.

    The police chief said efforts were on recover bodies of the victims.

  • Three feared dead in Aba as soldiers clash with Police

    Three persons were feared killed yesterday in the commercial city of Aba,Abia State , in the aftermath  of a shootout between soldiers and mobile policemen.

    Many others were wounded in the pandemonium that followed the shootout at the popular Osisioma Junction in the city.

    The identities of the victims could not be immediately confirmed.

    The cause of the clash could not also be ascertained.

    However,residents recalled that  a similar confrontation between soldiers and policemen in the area in 2015 claimed the life of a policeman.

    A trader, Chinyere Ikem, said that the unexpected shooting  forced people,including road side hawkers,  to scamper for the safety of their lives .

    He claimed to have seen a lorry load  of armed policemen arrive the scene that was already charged .

    Ikem said passengers who had gone to a nearby motor park to board vehicles to different parts of the country were left stranded.

    “It was like we were watching a movies,” he said of the bloody clash.

    “It happened in a flash and before you knew what was happening, trucks of army and police vans were everywhere.

    “Policemen  and soldiers  were locked in a shooting exchange. From what we later heard, two policemen and a soldier died in the gun duel.”

    There was no immediate response from the police and the army.

    Neither replied to the text message sent to them.

    However , the  Abia State Government in a statement  through Information Commissioner John Okiyi said the state received with sadness “disturbing reports of an unfortunate confrontation between a group of soldiers and police officers at the Osisioma area of Aba.”

    Okiyi who said that the state government was working with heads of security to bring the situation under control also promised that investigation was ongoing to know the cause of the incident and to fish out those behind the incident.

    He said: “We are working with the heads of the concerned security agencies in the state to ensure that the situation, which has been brought under control, does not repeat itself or escalate within the state.

    “Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has also directed full investigation of the circumstances that led to the breach of public peace with a view to preventing future occurrence of such armed confrontation that endanger the lives of innocent citizens and security agents working in the state.

    “While we are currently working with law enforcement agencies to review the immediate and remote cause of the incidence, members of the public are advised to go about their normal duties as the situation around the area has been pacified.

  • Three feared dead as hoodlums clash in Ibadan

    Three people have been reportedly killed in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, during a hoodlums clash.

    Some residents were injured in the mayhem, which started on Tuesday night.

    A source said residents of Abebi, Oloosa Oko, Oopo-yiosa and Orita-Merin fled their homes.

    Hoodlums engaged anti-riot policemen, who were drafted to restore normalcy, in a gun duel.

    The source said the crisis started when a popular Fuji musician came to Gbagi, a densely populated area, to perform during the May 1 Gbagi Day celebration.

    A member of the Security Committee, who preferred anonymity, told reporters that the crisis started when the musician gave money to some hoodlums.

    He said the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the area, Chief Gbenga Akinyemi, who was appointed by the local government to maintain peace, was not around when the mayhem started.

    The member said when the CSO was alerted, he called the DPO of Mokola Police Station to deploy his men in the areas.

    A resident told The Nation that “we could not sleep last night when the hoodlums arrived before the rain.

    “We appeal to security agencies and the government to rescue us, because we don’t know what will happen if these boys fight the police again.”

    Anti-riot policemen were in the areas yesterday.

    Command spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the incident, said he was unaware of the casualty.

    “I’m not aware of any death. However, there was public disturbance by the hoodlums. The police responded and restored normalcy. Some people have been arrested. Investigation is on.”

  • Three feared dead as another building collapses in Anambra

    AT least three persons were feared dead yesterday in Eziora village, Adazi-Ani in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, when a three storey building collapsed. About others are said to be injured. But police spokesperson in the state, Mr. Uche Ezeh, told reporters yesterday that only one person died during the incident. The owner of the building, one Mr. Uche Okeke, one of the brothers of transport mogul, Chief Godwin Okeke (aka G.U.O), told The Nation that the incident occurred on Thursday. He said the building, which was jointly owned by him and his five other brothers, was at the completion stage when it collapsed. According to him, “It is a sad thing and we are still confused over the incident because we awarded the contract over a year ago to a professional after spending millions of naira on the project for use of quality materials. “Over 20 men were at work when the incident happened. One worker was still trapped and so we immediately ordered for earth-moving equipment from Onitsha to remove the rubbles and to save his life. “By that time, we had reported to the police, who also helped in the rescue mission. But unfortunately, the man under the rubble died before help could come,” he said. The body of the deceased, according to Okeke, had been deposited at the morgue of St. Joseph’s Hospital at Adazi-Nnukwu, near the scene of the incident. One of the labourers, Mr. Olisa Obaze, said he broke his knee cap when he jumped down from the threestorey building. “We were carrying blocks upstairs when we suddenly heard a large cracking sound. We started running for our lives and I had to jump from the three-storey building. After the incident, we started calling on our others and realized that one man was still under the debris,” he said. However, two of the community members close by who spoke with The Nation, said the number of people trapped in the collapsed building had not been confirmed at press time.