Metro

JUST IN: Fire Razes Kwara Market

Published

1 month ago

April 2, 2024

Editor

A fire outbreak that began in the early hours of Tuesday engulfed several shops at Owode Market in Offa, Kwara State.

A video of the incident seen by SaharaReporters captured the moment some of the shop owners were mourning as they watched their property destroyed by the fire.

“This fire is too much. This is not caused by electricity. Maybe some people were cooking and the fire started from there because this fire is much,” one of the traders said in the video.

A source from the town on Tuesday morning said the fire was eventually quenched by personnel of the Federal Fire Service and Kwara State Fire Service.

The source added that no fewer than five shops were affected by the inferno.

“The authorities are still assessing the situation, but personally, I know at least five shops were affected. The worth of goods and property destroyed can’t be said now until the assessment ends.

“There are also several claims as to the cause of the fire until we wait for the fire service to release their statement on it,” the source said.

Meanwhile, barely eight months ago, there was a report about a midnight fire that razed a residential building in the town and destroyed property worth N6.5m.

The incident that occurred at about 1:05am at Kowope compound, Olorunkuse area, Offa, affected a two- bedroom flat and four shops.

In December, no fewer than 14 shops were reportedly razed by fire in two incidents that occurred in the Tanke area of Ilorin in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State.

At least, seven shops at Zion Overcomer, Opposite Duro Suleiman house, University Road, Tanke, were reportedly burnt while the second incident also occurred at Tanke Oke-Odo area on University Road at about 1.30 a.m.where another seven shops were destroyed by fire.

Metro

Truck Crushes Five-year-old Girl In Lagos

Published

3 mins ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

The Police Command in Lagos State says a five-year-old girl, simply identified as Bosede, was crushed to death by a truck while crossing the Iganmu-Apapa Expressway with her mother.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to the newsmen on Sunday.

Hundeyin said the information about the accident was received by the Iponri Police Division on Saturday at about 11.30 a.m.

He said the accident happened at Iganmu under the bridge, inward Apapa, involving a truck driven by yet to be identified driver.

The spokesperson said the girl and her mother were crossing the expressway when the truck hit and crushed her head, killing her on the spot.

Hundeyin said the police traffic officers from the division visited the scene and removed the corpse for burial by the family.

He said an investigation is ongoing for the possible arrest of the fleeing driver.

Metro

Customs Intercept N8.7m Smuggled Petrol En Route Benin Republic

Published

11 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, Western Marine Command, have intercepted 12,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit known is petrol worth N8,750,000 along the Isalu Creek Badagry Waterway en route to Benin Republic.

According to a statement and pictures shared on X.com by the NCS on Sunday, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Paul Bamisaiye, revealed this at the command’s headquarters on Friday.

The statement partly read, “At about 2330hrs on Wednesday, 8 May 2024, while on joint patrol based on credible intelligence, we received the movement of two boats laden with what was suspected to be petroleum products concealed in sacks. Upon receipt of the information, the team moved into Isalu Creeks Badagry Waterway.

“The Customs Area Controller stated that careful examination of the seizure at the Command Headquarters revealed ‘177 sacks and 61 kegs of 25 Litres Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) containing 12,500 Liters with a total Duty Paid Value standing at N8,750,000.”

Bamisaiye was reported to have warned smugglers to desist from their acts or risk arrest, stating that the action of the smugglers contravenes Sections 245 and 254 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

He was quoted as saying, “There’s a strong warning to the economic importance of this kind of seizure at a time of fuel scarcity cannot be over-emphasised.

“People are suffering due to artificial scarcity, but they are busy smuggling these products outside the country to make money. It’s either they stop this act, or we continue to arrest them. We have zero tolerance for this act.”

Similarly, the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the NCS said it also intercepted 12,435 litres of PMS worth N10.8 million being illegally exported to Cameroon.

Metro

Customs Intercepts N10m Worth Petrol En Route Cameroon Illegally

Published

12 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

The Nigeria Customs Service, Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has said it intercepted 12,435 litres of Premium Motor Spirit worth N10.8m being illegally exported to Cameroon.

In a statement on Saturday, the command said that the PMS was intercepted within two weeks.

The command added in the statement said the product was packed in 491 jerrycans, 25 litres each and eight jerrycans 20 litres each.

The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the command, Garba Bashir, explained that the PMS was intercepted alongside the means of conveyance.

“The officers, while on anti-smuggling operations along the command frontiers within two weeks, recorded five incidents of interception of premium motor spirit on its way to the neighbouring country, Cameroon

“The petrol and the means of conveyance were valued at NN10.8m,” he said.

The CAC stated that no suspect was arrested, adding that the perpetrators abandoned the items and absconded in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Bashir added that the seizures of the items were in line with sections 150 and 248 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, “and considering the facts that the command’s territorial borders are officially closed.”

He stated that the petrol had been auctioned due to its inflammable nature.

He added that smuggling activities have done more harm than good to the nation.

“It hinders our national growth, strangles our trade policies with regards to revenue, foreign investment, preservation of domestic trade and growth, food security, and public security,” Bashir said.

“We want to unwaveringly tell the smugglers that our operatives are strategically repositioned along the borderlines to fasten their exit out of this illicit business,” he added.

He solicited the support of the border communities in the fight against smuggling.

The Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, Yola, of the NCS is one of the commands under Zone B Customs, headquartered in Kaduna.