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Edo: Passengers Stranded As Intra-city Transporters Protest Increment In Government’s Daily Fee 

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Commercial activities were grounded; scores of passengers were on Wednesday stranded in Benin as intra-city commercial drivers grounded operations over the increase in the daily ticket rate by the Edo State Government.

Passengers had to resort to trek due to the protest that caught many residents of the ancient city unaware.

Commercial vehicles with passengers onboard were being stopped and harassed by irate members of the transport unions in strategic areas across the city.

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Mr Solomon Agbovaire, one of the transporters explained that the state government on Tuesday increased the ticket fee from N800 per day to N2000.

This, he said did not go down well with members of all the transport unions in the state.

“You will have to trek since government wants to kill us. We are asked to be paying N2000 daily for ticket as against the N800 we use to pay previously.

“This is unacceptable,” Agbovaire angrily said.

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In her reaction, Mrs Ifeoma Iroha, one of the affected passengers told newsmen that it was a height of insensitivity on the part of the state government to increase the fee amidst the prevailing harsh economic situation.

Iroha lamented how she was forced to pay the transport fare despite the fact that she was not conveyed to the agreed destination.

“I am going to Ring Road, but we were stopped at Five Junctions, which is about three to four kilometers to the bus stop.

“We were all forced to disembark from the bus and they forcefully collected the fare from us.

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“This is frustrating because my journey will not end at Ring Road. I will still have to proceed further.

“But as it is now, I have not know how long I will have to trek,” she said.

Mr Mark Ehanire said that increasing the ticket fee by more than 100 per cent was not the best.

Government, he said should be always aware that policy like this would bring untold hardship on the masses.

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“For instance, this action will definitely affect my business for today.

“I am going to Agip side on the Sapele Road and this is happening to me.

“In fact I don’t know what to say that to appeal to the government to rescind this decision.”

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Metro

Tanker Explosion Rocks Lagos, Two Burnt To Death

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Photo: file copy

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has disclosed that two men died in a tanker explosion which occurred on Friday night at the Ijesha end of the Cele link-bridge in Surulere area of the state.

The LSFRS Director, Margaret Adeseye, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, adding that firefighters responded swiftly to the distress call to extinguish the fire..

The statement partly read, “At approximately 23:12hrs emergency services were alerted to a tanker truck, carrying 33k litres of petrtol, losing control while navigating the roundabout to ascend the bridge. The subsequent spillage ignited into a large fire, engulfing the surrounding area.

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“Prompt action by the Isolo and Bolade Fire Stations of the agency, contained the inferno, preventing further escalation.

READ ALSO: Tanker Explosion Rocks Lagos

“Regrettably, two male individuals were discovered deceased, their bodies tragically burnt beyond recognition and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force, overseeing the necessary procedures. The Lagos State Ambulance Service also provided vital assistance throughout the operation.”

Adeseye added that efforts are underway to clear the wreckage of the involved vehicles from the road, to ensure free flow of traffic and to enable investigative procedures.

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The PUNCH reported in April that five people were confirmed dead and over 70 cars burnt in a tanker explosion at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Rivers State.

The incident was reported to have followed the collision between a petrol-laden tanker and a heavy-duty truck, spilling the content of the tanker which burst into flames.

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Kogi University Lecturer Stripped Over Alleged Sexual Harassment

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A lecturer at Federal University in Lokoja, Kogi state, on Friday, May 10, was stripped near naked over allegations of sexual harassment of a female student.

The lecturer whose full name is yet to be ascertained, incurred the wrath of some other female undergraduates of the English Department, where he teaches. They insisted that he must be publicly ‘disgraced’, claiming that ‘his cup was full’.

The lecturer who was stripped to his boxers, was saved from further embarrassment by the combined efforts of the school security unit, at the Adankolo mini campus of the institution.

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READ ALSO: Why We Took Over Rivers Assembly Quarters – Police

The Nation reported that during the interrogation, the lecturer implicated his colleagues, including the Head of the Department (HOD), claiming that they usually provide him with names of female students to either “pass or fail” based on their level of intimacy or absence with them.

When contacted, the school’s spokesperson, Daniel Iyke, said that the management is aware of the development and had immediately set up machinery to investigate the case.

Iyke said: “The thing is that the university has its own internal mechanism in taking care of it.

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“The report has been brought to the attention of the vice-chancellor, and he has set up a body to look into it. This was done immediately and the report or outcome will be made known as soon as it comes out. At this point, this is all I can volunteer.”

 

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Man Arrested For Raping Four-year-old Girl

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The Ekiti State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has apprehended one Afolabi Ojo for allegedly raping a four-year-old pupil.

Leadership reports that the mother of the young girl reported the incident at the NSCDC Command in Ado-Ekiti, where she informed officials that the assault took place on Olujoda Street. Subsequently, the suspect was arrested.

During questioning, the girl disclosed that the suspect had removed her underwear and sexually assaulted her late in April.

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Additionally, the girl’s mother stated that her daughter had confided in her about the incident.

However, the suspect denied all allegations, claiming he was falsely accused.

The Public Relations Officer of NSCDC in the state, Tolu Afolabi, confirmed that a medical examination had been conducted on the girl.

Afolabi revealed that the medical report confirmed the rupture of the hymen of the young girl.

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Furthermore, Afolabi stated that the command had initiated an investigation into the matter.

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