Metro

BREAKING: Six Feared Dead, 14 Injured In Oyo Road Crash

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2023

Editor

No fewer than six persons have been confirmed dead, while 14 others sustained varying degrees of injuries, in a road accident which occurred on the Ibadan-Oyo Expressway in Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses told The PUNCH that the driver of the 18-passenger white Toyota Hummer bus with number plate Lagos JJJ 941 XA, who was at a high speed, took off at the popular Akinyele market in Akinyele Local Government, Ibadan, before he suffered a tyre burst and lost control.

It was further gathered that the occupants of the bus, all males, were heading towards the northern part of the country before the accident.

When the Atiba Unit Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, the unit commander, Bayode Olugbesan, confirmed that four persons died before the arrival of the corps members, while the injured were quickly rushed to the state General Hospital in Oyo.

Olugbesan, who attributed the cause of the accident to speeding and overloading, also confirmed that 20 persons were involved in the incident. He added that the corpses have been deposited at the mortuary.

He said, “All the victims are male and their destination is North. The cause of the crash was speeding and overloading. The bus was supposed to carry 14 passengers but was loaded with 20 passengers.”

The unit commander, therefore, urged the road users to be careful while driving, avoid speeding, overloading and night travelling.

When The PUNCH also visited the state hospital in Oyo, a senior medical personal, who did not want her name in print, said, “The road safety officials brought 15 victims (injured ones) to the hospital, but two of them have given up the ghost after we administered first aid on them.”

Metro

Police Detain 3 Nsukka Masqueraders For Allegedly Assaulting Residents

Published

5 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

The police command in Enugu State has detained three masqueraders in the Nsukka area of the state for allegedly assaulting law-abiding citizens.

The command’s spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement in Enugu on Tuesday that police operatives, with the assistance of members of the community, led to the arrest of the suspects on June 23 at 3:30 p.m.

He said that the arrest of the suspects was in connection with the alleged physical assault of citizens by the ‘Oriokpa’ Masquerade group on June 22 as seen in a viral video.

“The suspects, along with others still at large, took advantage of the ‘Oriokpa’ Masquerade celebration to assault several innocent members of the public, inflicting bodily injuries on them.

“One of the victims was hospitalised for treatment due to injuries sustained during the attack.

“The masqueraders initially resisted police arrest and fled the scene.

“However, with the assistance of law-abiding community members, the three suspects were later identified and apprehended,” he said.

The spokesman said that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Giwa, had ordered a thorough investigation into the case to ensure that justice was served.

Ndukwe quoted the commissioner as saying that masquerade celebration was a sacred and symbolic aspect of the nation’s culture.

He said that the state police chief, however, decried the actions of those who exploited the occasion to commit criminal acts.

Ndukwe said that the commissioner warned against the use of cultural festivities as a cover for fomenting trouble and committing crimes against fellow citizens, as perpetrated by the ‘Oriokpa’ masqueraders.

“The command is assuring the public that all those involved in the assault of law-abiding citizens will be brought to justice,” he added.

(NAN)

Metro

Edo Police Arrest Four Suspected Cultists

Published

9 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

Edo Police Command said it has arrested four suspected cultists allegedly responsible for cult violence in Auchi and its environs of the state.

In a statement, the command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Moses Yamu said, the suspects, who were arrested during a joint operation, belong to different cultist groups.

The statement reads partly, “On 22/06/2025, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Cultism Unit in a joint operation with Jattu and Auchi Divisions embarked on a house-to-house arrest of cultists.

“These four (4) suspects were arrested in various locations in Auchi; Musa Murphy 25yrs of No 35 Ogeneni area Jattu, Auchi a member of Arobaga Confraternity, Gabriel Moses 25yrs of ECocota-Community, Auchi a member of Aye Confraternity, Michael Ayo 23yrs of No1 Emeke Uzuire, Auchi member of Eiye Confraternity and Philip Sunday 24yrs of Ebira camp, Auchi a member of Vikings Confraternity.”

Yamu expressed the state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika’s assurance to the “general public of the Command’s resolve to rid the State of cultism while the suspects would be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.”

Metro

Chaos In Court As Ex-convict Attempts To Escape

Published

13 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

A dramatic scene unfolded on Tuesday in an Ilorin Area Court as an ex-convict, Segun Samuel, attempted to escape from the court premises, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The Prosecution Counsel, ASP Samuel Mayowa, who witnessed the incident, told NAN that the ex-convict cunningly removed the chains from his leg with a broomstick, walked towards the restroom and scaled the court fence.

“He has four different criminal cases in this court. One of the cases was heard on Monday, and he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment.

“In the second criminal case, he was sentenced to six months of community service, and the third case was supposed to be heard today, before he pulled that stunt,” he said.

Luckily, he said, the police officers in the court premises and the prison warder swung into action and pursued him.

He said that after a thorough search, and with the help of the community, the ex-convict was found in a dilapidated building at Oke-Suna Area, Ilorin.

The Correctional Service officer, he said, was called, and the ex-convict was captured and returned to custody