News

Lagos Train Crash Survivor Recounts Incident, how She Escaped Death

Published

3 years ago

March 11, 2023

A survivor of Thursday’s crash involving a train and a bus carrying staff of Lagos State government has narrated how leaving her favourite corner to seat with another colleague saved her life.

“Where I normally seat in the bus” she narrated, “was the point the train rammed into.”

Meanwhile, the driver of the Lagos State government staff bus, Oluwaseun Osinbajo, has begged for forgiveness, blaming the accident on a mechanical fault in the bus.

However, survivors said he had his earpiece on while driving and ignored the signalman at the rail line.

He’s undergone several tests, including psychiatric, and authorities have said he will be prosecuted.

‘How I survived’

“My survival a miracle,” the the civil servant, who wished to remain unnamed, said.

“I would have been one of those in the morgue.

“I boarded the bus at Ikotun and sat on the middle row, close to the window, a position that had become my permanent seat.

“But on that fateful day, a friend (names withheld) invited me to come sit with her on the third row in front.

“She said the person she reserved the seat for called to say she won’t be joining the staff bus.

“That was how I left my permanent seat, which happened to be the exact place the train hit.

“Any time I remember that, I would quickly dismiss the thought of death with a shrug.

“This can only be God and I am grateful.”

Another survivor who simply gave her name as Ope, said she woke up to shouts of ‘e ma lo, e duro’.

According to Ope, “The staff bus conveys every staff of the Lagos State government living in Ikotun/Isolo area, irrespective of the department or agency, as long as the staff is headed for the secretariat.

“I sat on a seat in the first three rows in front and slept off immediately in order to catch some sleep before reaching the office.

“But I was jostled from sleep by shouts of ‘e ma lo, e duro’ (don’t go, wait).

“I woke up to know what what happening but before I could raise my head, I heard a loud bang. The impact flung many of us from our seats.

“I hit my head on a hard object and passed out. By the time I opened my eyes, I found myself in an ambulance that brought me to Orile Agege General Hospital.”

Other survivors

Other survivors that were taken to Orile Agege General hospital on Thursday were Mr. Juwon Fagbohun , 27, from the Agency for Mass Education; Adesoji Ajibade of the Office of the Head of Service; Mariam Olayiwola,18, Ministry of Health and Eniola Fashoyin, 53, from the Office of the Head of Service, PSO Alausa.

Other were Mrs. Adejoke Banjo, 42, from the Office of the Head of Service; Olaide Alabi, 21, a student on Industrial Attachment with the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Empowerment; Sekinat Ogunremi, 24, from the Ministry of Justice; Aishat Gbadegeshin, 25, from the Ministry of Establishment and Training.

Ganiyat Raji, from the Ministry of Science and Technology and Mrs Oluwatoyin Abiodun, 46, a staff of the Ministry of Information and Strategy.
VANGUARD

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

3 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

6 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

7 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813