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.
Source: Punch Nigeria
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