…As Osun CP says alleged killers of FRSC officer, daughter in Police custody 

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed that two persons lost their lives in a multiple accident involving 11 vehicles along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway on Wednesday.

The Sector Commander of FRSC, Enugu State Command, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Enugu shortly after rescue operations by operatives of the corps.

Agbakoba said that no fewer than nine males got injured as a result of the multiple accidents, which involved 30 people, comprising 26 males and four females.

He said that the multiple accident occurred at about 11:45 a.m. within the Port Harcourt-bound axis of the expressway, precisely within the New Garki axis of the road in Enugu State.

The sector commander stated that the multiple accident involved four trucks, two trailers, one Sienna, one tipper, one Hiace bus, one Mini-Bus, and one Jeep.

According to him, within 10 minutes of the unfortunate incident, officers and men of the FRSC Ozalla Unit Command stationed along the road and started the rescue operations.

“The injured victims were taken to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ozalla, by the FRSC Zebra 32 Ambulance team stationed along the expressway.”

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“Also, the obstructions were cleared by the FRSC, and the Enugu State Traffic Management Authority (ESTMA) towed the trucks.”

“The FRSC Unit Commander, Ozalla; the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ozalla and military men coordinated the rescue operation,” he said.

The sector commander said that causative factors that led to the multiple accidents included speed and route violations and loss of control. 

In another development, police in Osun, on Wednesday, said they have in their custody three suspects linked to the killing of a senior officer of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and her daughter.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Ibrahim Gotan, disclosed this at the command’s headquarters in Osogbo, while briefing newsmen on the feat achieved by the operatives of the command.

Gotan said that on Nov.10, the alleged mastermind of the crime was reported missing at Ikoyi Police Divisional Headquarters, after he was said to have left his house at Power-line Area, Osogbo, for prayer activities at Ikoyi Prayer Mountain.

He said the Police Anti-kidnapping Squad carried out a discreet investigation and found the suspect’s car, a Toyota Corolla Vaso, parked on Ibadan/Ife Expressway without knowing the location of the supposed missing man.

He said in the effort towards looking for him, the police on Nov.16, arrested one herbalist, called “Aberefa”, who confessed that the missing person the police were looking for was one of his customers.

He said the herbalist explained that the suspect brought a woman and her daughter to him for a money ritual on Nov. 3, and that the woman (a senior FRSC officer) and her daughter had been killed.

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Gotan said the herbalist, however, named three other suspects as the persons who actually killed the woman and her daughter.

“Furthermore, on Nov. 17, the herbalist led detectives to Esa-Odo Dam, where the remains of the FRSC woman were dumped.

“Some vital parts, such as the head, breast, two hands, private parts and others were missing from the recovered body and deposited at the UniOsun Teaching Hospital morgue for autopsy,” he said.

He said on Nov. 20, one of the named suspects by the herbalist was also arrested in Ekiti.

He said that during interrogation, the suspect confessed to being the one who slaughtered both mother and daughter at the instruction of his boss, the herbalist.

He also confessed that the two other suspects mentioned by the herbalist were the ones who butchered the bodies of the victims.

“The suspect also led detectives to recover the body of the daughter from the bush where she was killed.”

“Like her mother, some vital parts of the body, such as the head, two hands and the feet, were missing, and her remains too had been deposited at the UniOsun Teaching Hospital morgue,” the police chief said.

He said the mastermind, who was initially thought to be missing, was later discovered to have absconded to Ghana.

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He said that through effective collaboration with Interpol, the suspect was caught and repatriated to Nigeria.

Gotan said the man was currently in custody and had confessed to the crime.

He said that efforts were in top gear to apprehend other fleeing suspects and that all the detained suspects would be charged to court upon the completion of the ongoing investigation.

…Road crash leaves three dead in Gombe

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has begun a three-day intervention patrol across Lagos and Ogun states to curb road accidents as 2025 draws to an end.

The FRSC Zonal Commanding Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Ann Oladayo, on Wednesday in Lagos, said the intervention patrol was to prepare the states for the annual Operation Zero of the corps.

She said that the operation required Lagos and Ogun commands of FRSC working jointly, with their officers deployed for three days to ensure compliance with regulations, promote safe travel and prevent tragedies.

“This patrol is a precursor to December’s nationwide operation.”

“It was designed to sensitise motorists and ensure communities feel FRSC’s presence before intensified enforcement begins during the first week of December,” she said.

Oladayo listed accident-prone corridors in the zone to include Ogunmakin, Ogere, Shagamu, Mowe, Ibafo, Kara Bridge, Odetola Bridge and Ojota.

She said that frequent regulatory violations on the routes contributed significantly to fatal accidents.

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She identified key offences as driving under alcohol influence, overloading, failure to use seat belts, and poor vehicle checks.

She urged motorists to adopt good driving habits to prevent accidents.

“The team will focus on arresting trailers with improperly latched containers, as their impact, when they fall, is enormous.

“We will also deploy radar guns to track speeding drivers,” she said.

She noted that a mobile court had been put in place to prosecute erring drivers,  warning that violations would not be tolerated.

She urged motorists to always inspect their vehicles, ensure the effectiveness of tyres and brakes, avoid drinking before driving, have valid papers, and use seat belts.

“Disciplined behaviour keeps journeys safe,” she said.

She said that the corps was doing its best to reduce road accidents to the nearest minimum.

“Our strategic goal for this year is to reduce fatality by 10 per cent. That is why we are here to ensure we do not have these crashes on our roads.

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“We do not want to be carrying dead bodies on our roads, especially at this period.”

“A lot of people associate this time of the year with some activities and feel that people must die on the roads, but this is not so,” she said.

She said that road accidents resulted from people’s lackadaisical attitude toward road safety.

“A lot of people are impatient and do not want to adhere to traffic rules and regulations, thereby causing road crashes,” she said.

In another development, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Gombe State has confirmed three persons dead in a road crash on Gombe–Yola Road.

Mr Samson Kaura, the Sector Commander, said this in an interview with the News men in Gombe on Wednesday.

He said the crash involving two cars occurred around 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, before the Kashere junction in the Akko Local Government Area of the state.

Kaura said that six other persons who sustained varying degrees of injuries were receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.

While the corpses of the deceased had been deposited at the Specialist Hospital in Gombe.

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The commander attributed the crash to wrongful overtaking, which resulted in a head-on collision.

“We always advise against night driving, speed, wrongful overtaking, among others.”

“Though it is the right of anyone to drive at night, but if it is not necessary, kindly avoid it.”

 The cars involved in this crash were speeding even when they were driving at night.

“At night, we must drive with extra caution and maintain a reasonable speed because the car you think is far off may just be closer than you think,” he said.

The sector commander urged motorists to prioritise safety over speed and drive in a manner that does not expose them and other road users to risk.

…As one dies, two injured in a lone accident on Sagamu-Ikorodu Highway

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed the death of four persons, including a child, in a lone crash on the Cham–Numan Road in the Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State.

The Sector Commander of the FRSC, Samson Kaura, confirmed the accident in Gombe on Sunday.

Kaura said that 14 children that were in the bus sustained varying degrees of injuries while 20 other children escaped unhurt in the crash involving a Toyota Hummer on Sunday.

He said the corpses of those who died in the crash had been deposited at the Primary Health Care Centre, Cham.

The commander attributed the crash to loss of control as a result of speed.

“The crash happened around 2am in the night when a Toyota Hummer bus from Toro in Bauchi State to Adamawa State, carrying mostly children, lost control along Cham-Numan Road, resulting in the crash.

“The vehicle was moving above the recommended speed, and that resulted in loss of control and eventual crash.”

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“This is unfortunate because the bus was overloaded as the children were lapping one another, which increased the number of persons expected for such a vehicle,” he said.

He stated that the bus was carrying more than the expected passengers, stressing that the vehicle was conveying 41 persons, mostly children, as against 18.

He cautioned against night travels, adding that “though it is their constitutional right to travel anytime, but they must know that it is riskier travelling at night than during the day.

“Those who want to escape road enforcement officers and decide to travel at night must desist from those acts while doing the right thing and prioritising their safety and those of their passengers,” he said.

Kaura urged drivers to adhere to traffic rules and regulations, stressing that “life is more important than any economic or other benefit from driving.”

In another development, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency(TRACE) has confirmed the death of one person while two others sustained injuries in a lone road crash along Sagamu-Ikorodu Highway in Ogun.

Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, TRACE Public Relations Officer, said on Sunday in Abeokuta, that the road crash occurred at Arigbabu area of Mosimi in Sagamu Local Government of the state.

Akinbiyi stated that the accident occurred about 7:00a.m on Sunday, involving a white Mazda mini truck with no registration number.

He added that a preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of the vehicle allegedly lost control and rammed into a culvert, leading to his death on the spot.

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“The Mazda mini truck was heading towards Ikorodu when the accident occurred.”

“The driver died instantly, while two male passengers sustained injuries,” Akinbiyi said.

He said that the deceased’s remains had been taken away by his family members before the arrival of rescue teams, while the injured victims were also rescued and taken home by relatives.

He said that some personnel of the TRACE and the Federal  Road Safety Corps (FRSC) operatives were on the ground to control traffic and ensure the evacuation of the wrecked vehicle to Papa Oscar Cage at Sotubo in Sagamu.

Akinbiyi advised motorists to always rest well before heading for work, warning that “driving while fatigued can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol.”