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Black Sunday: 11 Burnt in Ondo Crash, Container Crushes Nine in Lagos

Published

3 years ago

January 30, 2023

Eric

No fewer than 20 people were confirmed dead on Sunday in two road crashes in Ondo and Lagos states.

While 11 people lost their lives at Ore town along the Benin-Sagamu Expressway in the Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, nine died at Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos State.

The Ondo crash involved a commercial Marcopolo bus and a truck.

The victims were reportedly burnt beyond recognition.

A driver, who was at the scene of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the two vehicles collided and later caught fire.

He explained that the crash happened as motorists diverted from one side of the dualised expressway to the other side due to a faulty truck that blocked the road.

He said, “Motorists and commuters were taking one side of the expressway because a truck fell and blocked the other side of the road. For the past three days, vehicles heading towards Benin had been taking one way because the truck blocked their way and there was nobody to clear it off the road. For the past three days, it has been like that.

“The bus was coming from Benin and heading towards Lagos; it dropped some passengers at Ore. The bus then collided with the truck and caught fire around 6am today (Sunday).”

The Ondo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Ezekiel Son’Allah, confirmed the accident, adding that it occurred as a result of speeding on the part of the truck and bus drivers.

He said, “Eleven people were burnt to death in the crash which was caused by road traffic and speed violations.”

In the Lagos accident, nine persons were confirmed dead and one person was rescued alive after a truck conveying a 20-foot container fell on a commercial minibus at Ojuelegba in the Surulere area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred around 12.45pm when the minibus, with number plate KTU921YG, stopped to pick up some passengers.

The passengers were said to have boarded the bus, which was ready to move when the truck, which was also trying to ascend the bridge, lost control, fell on its side and crushed the minibus.

The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in a statement.

“After suspending the container load with the aid of the agency’s forklift and cutting off the top of the bus with light rescue equipment, a single adult woman was extricated alive and taken to the trauma centre.

“Final casualty count is nine fatalities comprising four adult males, three adult females, a boy child, and a girl child. One adult female was rescued alive.

“The agency’s heavy-duty Goliath and teams from Onipan and Cappa are on ground. The agency’s ambulance, LASG fire, federal fire, LASTMA, and the Nigeria Police have been working on this situation, which is now concluded.”

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, said officials of the agency rescued the survivor and handed her over to emergency responders.

The Punch

Featured

Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

Featured

DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.