Follow Us on Google
From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi and Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
No fewer than 12 people were killed in a fatal accident which occurred on the Obajana-Lokoja Expressway in Kogi State, yesterday.
The Corps Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Abuja Command, Bisi Kazeem, who confirmed the accident in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, said six people sustained injuries of varying degrees in the crash which occurred at about 10.30pm.
He said the incident involved a Toyota Hiace bus with registration No. MKA515ZD, and a Sono Truck, adding that all the 18 passengers in the bus were male adults. He blamed the cause of the crash on “speed violation”, leading to the loss of control by the drivers of the vehicles.
Kazeem quoted the FRSC Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, as calling on motorists and other road users to “avoid driving against stipulated speed limits on all roads”. Biu said observing the speed limit would help to drastically reduce road crashes.
Meanwhile, the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, has condoled with the families of three people killed by flood at Dakingari, Suru Local Government Area of the state.
Idris pleaded with the deceased relatives as well as the local government council to accept the incident as will of God in good faith. The flood, it was gathered, affected 315 houses in the area.
Governor Idris, who also sympathised with those who sustained injuries and those whose houses were affected, donated N40 million to the victims, with an instruction that the deceased families be given N500,000 each.
He also directed the council chairman to set up a committee to honestly distribute the money to the affected victims and assured them that the state government, through the Ministry of Works, in collaboration with the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy, would work out a lasting solution to the menace.
He said: “The best way to tackle the lingering problem is to construct a channel at the flood prone areas that will facilitate free flow of water into rivers.”
In his response, the Chairman, Suru Local Government, Alhaji Muhammad Lawal-Suru, appreciated the governor for the visit as well as timely intervention. He assured the governor that the money, as well as all palliatives related to the flood would be judiciously distributed.
Malam Jafaru Aliero, the Lamido of Dakingari thanked the governor, confirming that the flood had remained an annual event in the area. Aliero assured that the community had made several efforts during the previous administration to find a lasting solution to the problem, but to no avail. He, however, expressed joy with the quick intervention of the governor and his determination to put an end to their lingering plight.
Similarly, the governor had a stop over at Rijiya Maikabbi village in Dandi Local Government Area to sympathise with the flood victims where he also donated N10 million to the victims.
