…As 3 die after car plunges into Omo River on Sagamu-Benin Expressway***

The Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC ), Osun Command, said six persons lost their lives in an accident that occurred on the Imesi-Ile highway.

The Sector Commander, Mr. Henry Benamesia, said this in a statement by the command’s spokesperson, Mrs Agnes Ogungbemi, on Sunday in Osogbo.

Benamesia said two vehicles had a head-on collision on Saturday at about 9: 44 p.m. due to the brake failure of one of them, resulting to the death of six persons.

He said that an articulated vehicle ( Red Daf ) without a number plate, collided with another blue commercial truck on Imesi -Ile hill with casualties due to speeding.

” We have five dead victims taken to the University Teaching Hospital in Osun (UNIOSUN) by the Nigeria Police before the arrival of the FRSC team.

” The last dead victim was trapped under the truck and we were able to use an extricate machine to remove the trapped body from one of the vehicles, ” Benamesia said.

According to him, the accident involved 17 persons with 11 escaping unhurt while six others lost their lives.

He charged road users to drive defensively in order to prevent any form of accidents.

Benamesia, however, advised drivers to drive with caution and ensure their vehicles were in perfect condition before embarking on any journey.

In another development, three persons were confirmed dead while one other sustained injuries when a Toyota Sienna car plunged into the Omo River, around Area J4, on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway on Saturday.

Mrs Florence Okpe, the Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC)  in Ogun, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta on Saturday.

“The accident occurred around 11:55 a.m., and the suspected cause of the crash was excessive speed and loss of control which made the vehicle plunged into the river.

“The vehicle marked APP 830 HX was coming from Benin and heading to Lagos,” she added.

Okpe added that three male adults were found dead while one person sustained injuries in the lone vehicle accident.

The FRSC spokesperson explained that the injured victim was taken to Hope Clinic J4 in the Ijebu-East local government area of the state.

”Bodies of those dead were deposited at the State General Hospital morgue in Ijebu-Ode,” she said.

Okpe quoted the State Sector Commander of FRSC, Anthony Uga, as describing the crash as avoidable if caution was considered.

The sector commander said speed limit violations by motorists, especially the commercial vehicle drivers on that route, as the cause of several road traffic crashes.

“In this case, however, the FRSC sector commander appreciated the efforts of local divers for the rescue operation.

”We also sympathise with the families of the victims, just as we advise them to contact the FRSC Ogbere outpost for more information about the crash,” Okpe said.

The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NUPRC) has confirmed that search and rescue operations of Personnel on Board (POB) of Seplat Energy’s capsised drilling rig in Delta have started and are still ongoing.

The drilling rig had capsised while in transit and was partially submerged at about 5.00 am on Tuesday.

The NUPRC management said, in a statement on Thursday, it had been formerly notified by Seplat Energy Plc of the incident involving a drilling rig during its operation at a swamp location in Delta.

The NUPRC said the Depthwize Majestic Rig was contracted by Seplat Energy Plc to drill Ovhor-21 well at a swamp location in Delta.

It explained that the rig completed the drilling of Gbetiokun-11 for NEPL and demobilised on Aug. 9.

“Thereafter, the rig commenced Rig-Move from Gbetiokun-11 well location to the planned Ovhor – 21 well location. Unfortunately, the rig capsised while in transit and was partially submerged at about 5.00 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

“Information from our Warri Regional Office confirmed that Search and rescue operations of Personnel on Board (POB) the rig have commenced and it’s ongoing.

“Seplat Energy has also submitted Incident Notification Form 41 to the Commission as statutorily required and commenced a preliminary and detailed investigation on the incident.

“Out of the 96 personnel on board at the time of the incident, 92 have been rescued, one confirmed dead and three yet to be accounted for,” it said.

However, it added that the divers had been mobilised to the location of the incident for search and rescue operations, while the rescued personnel were receiving medical attention at the company’s hospital.

“The Commission will continue to update the public on the detailed outcome of the investigations as more information becomes available,” it said.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its West African counterpart, Benin Republic, on Aeronautical Search and Rescue (S&R).

Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA), made this known in a statement in Lagos on Thursday.

Nuhu signed the MoU on behalf of Nigeria while Mr. Karl Legba, the Director-General, Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), Benin Republic, signed for his country.

The director general said this relationship would further enhance air safety operations in the region, especially between the two countries.

He stated that the partnership on air safety between the two countries was long overdue, adding that Nigeria would also go further by signing such an agreement with its other neighbouring countries.

Going forward, Nuhu informed that the country would sign a similar agreement with Togo and Chad on Friday, while Cameroon would follow soon after.

He said: “Nigeria is keen on improving air safety in the West African region. Apart from the region, we also want to ensure that African airspace is safe at all times.

“We need to consistently improve our relationships on the continent, starting from the region.”

Nuhu noted that Nigeria was also considering signing a bilateral technical agreement between it and South Africa.

The meeting between the two countries’ Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs), happened on the sidelines of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), which comprised the continent’s CAAs’ Directors-General meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

In his comment, Legba lauded the Nigerian Government for always playing a leadership role in civil aviation in the region and the continent as a whole.

In attendance were officials of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace, Directors; Capt. Talba Alkali, Director of Safety, Mr Hassan Ejibunu, Director of Air Transport Management, Capt. Ibrahim Dambazzau.

Others are the Director of Operations, Licensing and Training of NCAA, Abubakar Saraku, Director of Air Transport Regulations, and Mary Tufano, Board Secretary/Legal Adviser also of the agency.

Also in the Team Nigeria was Mr. Mahmoud Tukur, Representative of Nigeria on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council and the current 2nd Vice-President of the body.

Poppy Khoza, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, in South Africa, led the South African team to the meeting with Nigeria.