There was pandemonium, on Tuesday, after a fight broke out among some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and those of Viju Company at the Oba Akran Avenue area of Ikeja, the state capital.

It was gathered that the incident occurred at midnight, resulting in multiple injuries to victims.

It was also learnt that one of the Viju Company’s motorboys had been shot, while others sustained hand stab wounds.

A video sent to our correspondent showed injured victims with blood on the hands, faces, and clothing of the LASTMA officials and Viju workers.

Speaking with The PUNCH, a driver at Viju, simply identified as Seyi, stated that soldiers, LASTMA officials, and touts came to impound their trucks at midnight and, in the process, stabbed his hand when he decided to fight back.

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“We were sleeping on top of the truck, and we were not aware of anything. Some boys were just shouting that they were already parking the vehicles. We approached them and asked why they would be impounding vehicles at odd hours. LASTMA officials, soldiers, and touts who came were up to 100. When I decided to fight back, they used an axe to stab my back. I was surprised that soldiers came for such an operation.”

Another Viju official, Issa Tijani, said they had threatened to send the arrested individuals to Kirikiri Prison, adding that they must pay N700,000 to free their vehicles.

He said, “They did not just raid Viju Company but also the whole neighbourhood. I wonder how they were sure that the people who were involved were the staff members of Viju. The issue on the ground currently is that they told them that they would carry all those guys to Kirikiri Prison for no reason because, firstly, they are not sure if they are the ones. Also, they told them to come and bail their vehicles for N700,000, which I think is not fair, and it is suspicious that they came at midnight. They also broke a bottle on my head

A driver at Viju Company, Ismalia Asuma said, “I did not do anything for the LASTMA officials. We were sleeping on top of trucks when they came to raid. They came with soldiers, the task force, and ‘agberos’ (touts) to attack them. They even shot me in the back because I did not do anything.”

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When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, LASTMA, Adebayo Taofeeq, said the residents filed a petition complaining about Viju trucks impeding the road, adding that 54 vehicles were impounded in the area around 12 a.m.

“We received a petition from the residents about the Viju milk truck drivers blocking the road left and right and turning the dual lane into one lane. We even wrote a petition to the Lagos State Parking Authority. We acted on the direction of the Honourable Special Adviser on Transportation, Sola Giwa. By getting there on April 23 by midnight, we were able to remove 54 trucks.”

He added that some miscreants attacked the agency officials and that five individuals were arrested.

“After we completed that assignment, they went ahead to mobilise miscreants from the Agege area, and as a result of that, they injured seven of our officials. Our men did not use guns at all; the only thing we used was teargas, and we do not know if the task force people were present there.

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“While LASTMA operational vehicles were vandalised, 54 Viju milk trucks were evacuated during the enforcement operations. The police, working alongside LASTMA, arrested five of these individuals (Falomo Oluwafemi, Afeniyi Stephen, Olamide Adekunle, Chukwu Guaja Eze, and Adeshina Sulaimon) and seized various weapons, including broken bottles, iron rods, charms, knives, and cutlasses.

“The injured LASTMA officers were promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention. Hon. Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, stated that the arrested individuals would be prosecuted by the government as a deterrent to others.”

All efforts to get the reaction of the Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Taskforce, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, proved abortive, as he did not respond to calls and messages sent to his phone as of the time of filing this.

No fewer than four persons were feared killed following a multiple explosion at the Eleme section of the East-West Road in Rivers State on Friday night.

It was gathered that a tanker laden with petroleum products exploded, affecting other vehicles in the area known for its gridlock.

The incident started arpind 9:15pm adjacent to the Indorama Petrochemical Company located along the Akpojo-Onne axis of the East-West Road leading to some critical national assets.

A source living in Akpajo, Eleme Local Government Area, said he heard a deafening sound twice from his residence.

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The source who gave his name as Vikko said, “I heard a very loud sound about 20 minutes ago, and people were shouting.

“The sound came from the Petro-Chemical company area. So when I came out, I saw a thick smoke with fire from a distance.”

A Port Harcourt-based broadcast journalist, Segun Owolabi, who gave a live update from the scene aired on his company’s Radio Station (Super FM, 93.3) painted a gory picture and said he counted four bodies burnt.

Owolabi stated, “I saw four dead bodies burnt. Some may have been in the bushes because many ran away. I saw a whole stretch of vehicles burnt down, trailer burnt down.”

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On what may have caused the fire which he said was still raging, he said, “There seems to be a truck carrying substances and it was as if it had a collision with another vehicle that may have ignited the fire. Over 20 vehicles burnt down and several people trapped.

“There may be more bodies. Oh my God this is a tragedy. A stretch of vehicles burnt,.”

He, however, said three fire-fighting trucks from the Indorama Petrochemical company had arrived at the scene and were trying to put out the fire which was still raging.

He added, “Our call right now is to other companies to assist in putting out the fire because it may overwhelm the three fire trucks by the Indorama Company.

“Some security agents are here too, but we call for security presence to ensure nothing else happens here. Also the Rivers State Government and other relevant agencies should rise to the occasion in seeing that the situation is brought under control.

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“Also, the Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area should swing into action and make every necessary call he needs to make to save people of his area and others using the road.”

Owolabi said the fire was still raging as of the time he left with thick smoke billowing into the atmosphere.

Following the incident, it was gathered that hundreds of travellers and passengers were stranded as the road which leads to Akwa Ibom, Cross River and others were blocked.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said though she was yet to get a situation report on the incident, she would find out and revert.

She had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Friday night.

A resident’s failure to properly extinguish a charcoal fire used for cooking on Thursday night resulted in a fire that engulfed a 40-room flat in the early hours of Friday.

The incident happened at the Ile Muse compound, off Emir’s Road in Ilorin, Kwara State,

The PUNCH gathered that 9 of the 40 rooms at No. E143, Ile Muse, off Emir’s road, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara were consumed by the inferno that engulfed the building early on Friday.

Eye witness account corroborated by the report of the state fire service said that the fire incident started in the wee hours of Friday and was caused by an unextinguished fire from Charcoal left in the night by one of the residents after cooking her meals.

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A neighbour, Mallam Abdulkadir, said the vigilante guarding the area noticed the fire and raised the alarm to wake the residents around 2.30 am.

“Some residents were already awake and we were making efforts to put out the fire when the firemen arrived and used their equipment to stop the fire from spreading to the whole of the building,” he said.

Kwara State Fire Service, in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Hassan Adekunle, said, “The Fire Service received a distress call at about 3.00 am on Friday that a raging fire had engulfed a compound at No. E143, Ile Muse, off Emir’s Road, Ilorin.

“The fire had already burned 9 rooms completely before the crew got there but the firemen sprang into action, racing against time to save lives and property”, the statement said.

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“Upon arrival, the firefighters were met with a daunting challenge. But with their training, skill, and unwavering dedication, they battled the blaze with unrelenting fury. The fire was finally brought under control at 03:42 hours, a testament to the crew’s unyielding spirit and professionalism,” the statement read.

Adekunle, who said that no life was lost in the inferno, revealed that household utensils, clothes, electronics and building materials, as well as personal documents, were lost to the fire incident.

He said that the Director of the State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, who was visibly moved by the incident, sympathised with the victims.

“This avoidable tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the importance of fire safety and awareness,” Falade emphasised.
PUNCH