At least 15 people have been killed in Jigawa and Ughelli primary markets in Ughelli North local government area of Delta State, and Utu Etim Ekpo, headquarters of Etim Ekpo local government area of Akwa Ibom State.
Ten people lost their lives, and one sustained injuries in a fatal road accident at Yanfari village in the Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Lawan Shiisu Adam, confirmed the incident in a statement released on Tuesday.
Adam said the accident on Monday involved a Toyota Hummer bus and a parked trailer.
He explained that the accident happened when the Toyota Hummer bus with registration number HDJ 631 YDD, travelling from Kano to Hadejia, collided with a parked trailer with registration number RGN180 ZC, causing the bus to somersault.
In the separate killings, it was gathered that in Delta State, where two people were killed, stakeholders are afraid it may lead to renewed hostilities between Iwhreko and Ekiugbo communities in the area.
It was learned that the deceased, one Onome, popularly called Oyibo, was shot dead at the Ughelli primary market, while the other, identified as Nathaniel, died from bullet wounds at the Ughelli Central Hospital.
While a source alleged that Oyibo was collecting from petty traders at the market when yet-to-be-identified persons accosted him, another suspected it to be a cult-related clash.
The source revealed that when the guys accosted Oyibo, traders waded into the matter, and while the issue was being resolved, gunshots were heard.
When contacted, the Chairman of Ughelli North local government council, Olorogun Jaro Egbo, said, “I learned that somebody was shot, and I quickly informed the security agencies, the Area Commander, the Army formation, and they have gone there to clear the area.
A community leader, however, denied the reported allegations, saying their community cannot stoop so low to attack anybody because of revenue collection.
The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Edafe Bright, was yet to respond, but a senior security source confirmed the development.
Meanwhile, three persons, including a lawyer, have been killed and several others critically injured as an articulated truck ferrying large consignments of flour rammed into shops at Utu Etim Ekpo, headquarters of Etim Ekpo local government area of Akwa Ibom State.
Some residents, including Gabriel Akpan, who spoke to LEADERSHIP, said that the sad incident occurred at about 8:00 pm when the truck fleeing some bribe-taking army operatives mounting roadblock at the Nkwot Ikot Ebo portion of the Iwukem – Etim Ekpo – Abak road, lost control and rammed into shops, killing the victims instantly.
“The truck loaded with flour was coming from the Iwukem axis of the road towards Abak and was flagged down by soldiers mounting a roadblock at Nkwot Ikot Ebo, but the driver refused to stop.
“The soldiers then pursued and overtook, but the driver again refused to stop. The soldiers scampered away as the truck sped towards the roundabout and descended the slope. They needed help to navigate away with speed.
“The driver then lost control and veered off the road into several makeshift shops by the motor park and crashed, killing the unsuspecting victims suddenly,” Eno Umanah, a motorcyclist around the council secretariat, recalled.
The road constructed during the era of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Governor (2007 -2015) by CETRACO Construction Company, according to Akaninyene Umanah, a resident of the LGA, has claimed over 70 lives, including about 40 Church worshippers returning from a Church convention, and other commercial busses and motorcyclists as victims.
However, a civil engineer, another LGA indigene, blamed incessant accidents on that same spot on what he described as “poor and irregular road alignment by the contractors.” He alleges that a prominent politician in Etim Ekpo had colluded with some officials of the then Ministry of Works, led by Mr Don Etim, as commissioner, “to lower the standard and alter the original road design, to pocket part of the contract sum.”
Another LGA indigene, who would not want his name in print, alluded, recalling, “I talked about that roundabout years ago, and I was accused of insulting the elders of Etim Ekpo.”
“That the roundabout needed to be taken away from that place or a proper roundabout should be reconstructed to save people’s lives because, If you are coming from the stadium to that roundabout, it’s hazardous due to the sloppy nature of that portion of the road. I hope this is taken seriously,” he stressed.
It was gathered that a woman, whose two legs were mangled, was rejected by medical workers at the nearby Divine Love Hospital (DLH) at Utu Ikot Imonte. The Utu Etim Ekpo Government Hospital had to be rushed to the referral University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), about 45 45-minute’ drive from the incident scene.
The State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Corps Commander Edward Odiete’s line, was off when filing this report. Still, the Corps Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the State, John James, promised to update “as soon as I reach the office.”
