Christmas Tragedy Occurs In Lagos And Cross River States: Leaving 9 Dead »

It was a bloody Christmas celebration in Lagos and Cross
River states as no fewer than nine persons were killed in
auto accidents on Tuesday night and on Wednesday
morning.
Five people comprising a baby, her mother, two brothers
and a driver died on Wednesday in the Lagos State accident,
while four youths died in the Cross River accident.
In Lagos, our correspondent learnt that apart from the five
people that perished on Christmas day, another lady
suffered a fracture after a container which was on an
articulated truck fell on a commercial bus on Alaba Suru
Road in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun area of Lagos.
Eyewitnesses said the baby, her mother, the two brothers
and the bus driver, who were victims of the accident, were
returning from the Lagos Island.
It was said the two brothers went to purchase bangers for
the New Year celebration.
The crash was said to have been caused by a mentally
unstable woman, who laid in the middle of the road, thereby
creating confusion for the truck driver who was on top
speed.
Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Metro that the yellow LT bus,
with number plate, MUS-975-XC, had also stopped by the
side of the road to drop off a passenger, which precipitated
the accident.
A resident, Mohammed Wasiu, said, “The incident happened
around 8.30am. I saw the mad woman walking around this
morning. She just decided to sleep on the road at that time.
“The LT bus was going towards Mile 2. There were about
eight people in the bus. The driver decided to stop because
someone wanted to get down from the bus.
“As this was going on, the truck was coming on full speed.
There were two trucks; one was already ahead, so the
second truck driver wanted to catch up.
“When he got to that point and saw the mad woman on the
road, he wanted to avoid crushing her. As he maneuvered
the truck, its side hit the bus, and the container fell on the
bus.”
Wasiu said residents immediately rushed to the scene and
began to cut the vehicle with saws in order to save the
occupants who were in pain.
Another eyewitness, who did not identify himself, said, “The
two brothers who were at the back of the bus were trapped.
They had packs of bangers that they just bought. The
woman, who wore a shawl, and was carrying a baby, could
not also escape. They all died, including the driver.
“It was only a lady that was at the entrance to the door that
escaped with a fracture.”
After the accident, angry residents were said to have seized
the mentally unstable lady and beaten her up. Some of the
residents said it was the second time she would trigger such
accident. She was, however, rescued by policemen.
At the rescue operation scene were officials of the National
Emergency Management Agency, Federal Road Safety
Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, policemen,
and the Lagos State Emergency Medical Services.
The NEMA spokesperson, South-West Zone, Ibrahim
Farinloye said, “The incident happened at 8.30am, but we
were not alerted till around 11.46am. NEMA was able to
mobilise other rescue officials to the scene. At the end of
the rescue operation, a woman and her baby with two men
died, while a lady was rescued alive. She however had a
fractured leg. The corpses have been taken to a mortuary in
Oshodi.”
The police Public Relations Officer,  Lagos State, Ngozi
Braide, said she would call back to give details on the
accident.
In Cross River, four youths were on Tuesday killed, while
several others were injured after a Mercedes Benz 911 truck
rammed into them by the road side at the Akamkpa area of
the Calabar-Ikom highway.
The incident, which occurred around the state’s college of
education in Awi, Akamkpa Local Government Area, left the
community in mourning.
PUNCH Metro gathered on Wednesday that the truck with
number plate, Lagos FKJ 505 XC, was immediately burnt by
angry mob, while the driver, Chidi Duruba, and the truck
conductor, Edwin Oragunye, were thoroughly beaten up.
Two of the injured persons are Blessing Etim and
Okechukwu Mbaka. The whereabouts of the six other injured
persons could not be immediately ascertained.
An eyewitness, Ekam Emmanuel, said, “About 6am on
Tuesday, some youths from Mbarakom community decided
to go for a road walk along the Calabar-Ikom highway.
“A Mercedes Benz 911 truck with the number plate, FKJ 505
XC rammed into them from behind and the incident claimed
four lives on the spot while several others were injured.
“This incident happened at 6am when I came to clean my
shop. I met the youths jogging on the highway but suddenly
a truck coming from Calabar on high speed  climbed on the
four that died on the spot.
“As a result of the tragedy, the Mbarakom youths got angry,
the truck driver and his conducter were almost killed when
they stopped to see what had happened. They were
seriously beaten up, while the truck was set ablaze.”
Emmanuel said  another truck, marked  Cross River, KAM 45
XA, was also forcefully stopped by the angry mob and set
ablaze. He added that the driver escaped being lynched.
She said the anger continued as the youths further burnt
another oncoming Audi 80 commercial car, adding that the
intervention of the combined team of military and police
patrol teams brought the situation under control.
A police officer in the Akamkpa division, Eric Bassey, who is
of the traffic department, confirmed the report. He said,
“The DPO got an early morning distress call that there was a
riot going on in Awi. He immediately gave us orders and on
getting to the scene we discovered that three vehicles were
burnt and some casualties were there.
“The casualties included some dead bodies, while several
others, who sustained injuries, were taken to the hospital for
medical attention.
“We were informed that the driver and the conductor of the
truck that caused the accident were being held hostage at
Mbarakom. We acted swiftly, but discovered that they had
been beaten up badly. We rescued them and took them to
the General Hospital at Akamkpa where they are still
receiving treatment.”
He said peace had been restored in the troubled community.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Hogan Bassey, confirmed the incident, adding that  the
police had been able to bring the situation under control.