14 Medical Students Die in Auto Accident in Kogi

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Timothy Ajiboye
Barely 24 hours after an auto accident claimed the lives of four persons in Kogi State, another 14 persons yes 44

The state Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Godwin Omiko, informed journalists in Lokoja that the accident involved three vehicles, saying that the accident happened at a spot close to the border area between Kogi and Edo States.

He said the victims were mostly public health officers in the employ of the Local Government Service Commission, Kaduna State.

According to him, the public health officers were 400-level students travelling to Cotonou, Republic of Benin, to write their first semester examination at Houdegbe North American University.
Omiko said  a female child on the trip with her mother also died in the accident.

He said the accident occurred when a Toyota bus with registration number Kogi LG 25 DAH rammed into an oncoming Toyota Hiace passenger bus with registration number Lagos AAA 463 XD which also hit another vehicle in the front.
Due to the heavy impact, the Sector Commander said the passenger bus immediately caught fire, thereby burning 14 of the passengers beyond recognition.

He said three victims, including a female child were rescued alive by the FRSC officials but the child later died in the hospital a few hours later.

Omiko said 12 of the victims had been given mass burial at the public cemetery at Magongo in the presence of policemen from Ogori-Magongo police division while the corpses of the female child and two other male adults were still at the morgue of the General Hospital, Obangede at the time filling in this report.

He said one Idris  Abdulahi, the driver of the Toyota Hiace bus with registration number Kogi: LG 25 DAH believed to be responsible for the crash had been arrested and is now in police custody.

The Sector Commander said  preliminary investigation revealed that the driver was heavily drunk and drove recklessly which caused the accident.

FCTA Bulldozer Kills Three-year-old, Mother Commits Suicide

FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed

Senator Iroegbu 
All hell broke loose Thursday after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)-sanctioned demolition exercise in Gwarimpa Estate turned deadly when a three-year-old girl was alleged to have been killed by a bulldozer belonging to the Department of Development Control (DDC). As a result of the incident, the mother was said to have committed suicide.

The incident was said to have taken place in a Gwari settlement called Lungi, where Sahara and Sunshin developers were allocated land to build estates.

An eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Michael, told THISDAY that the problem started when the bulldozer pulled down one of the houses without knowing that the toddler was still inside, killing her instantly.

He said the mother of the child on realising the tragedy had befallen her, could not bear the loss, took a knife and stabbed herself to death.

“You know all these Gwari people now. They have been told by the government to relocate but have refused to move until the bulldozers came and accidentally killed the three-year-old in one of the buildings,” he said.
“This has sparked a protest in the whole area, especially around the Galadimawa area, with the expressway leading through Gwarimpa to Zuba blocked by protesting youths from the villages. The whole estate up to Charlie Boy House is on lock-down right now,” he added.

Also speaking to journalists, another eyewitness said: “The police have resorted to firing into the air in an attempt to disperse the unyielding crowd. The youths have vowed not to go away until they kill the bulldozer driver.”

According to her, Charlie Boy has even joined the protest accusing FCTA of negligence, even though the situation is said to have returned to normal.
Responding to THISDAY enquiries, the Public Relations Officer in the FCTA Police Command, Mr. Kalu Metu, confirmed that there was an exercise in Gwarimpa but could not confirm if anybody was killed.

“If anybody committed suicide it has not come to our notice. Our people only went to remove illegal structures because the chief of that area was busy allocating land to people despite the court ruling and directive for people to vacate that place,” Metu said.

The DDC spokesman also explained that squatters had encroached on an area marked for demolition.

He said the FCTA had even gone ahead to obtain a court injunction ordering the settlers and villagers to vacate the marked zone with subsequent quit notices served.

According to Metuh, “Squatters encroached on Plot 64, Kafe District at Lungu Village, a plot which was for estate development marked for demolition since March 4, 2014 after a series of meeting with the chief of Lungi.

“They went to court to stop the demolition but the court finally threw the case away.”
He said about 54 illegal structures were demolished including 17 shanties, five shops and one church.