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Tag: Driver

  • Gunmen kidnap another senior Ekiti LG official, driver

    A Director of Administration in Gbonyin Local Government Area in Ekiti State, Mr. David Jejelowo and his driver have been kidnapped by a group of unidentified gunmen and whisked away to unknown destination.

    Jejelowo was kidnapped on Monday evening along Ado-Ijan road while returning from Ode Ekiti, the local government headquarters to Ado Ekiti capital city.

    The incident occurred few days after an accountant with Emure local government, Mr Abayomi Ajayi was killed and two other officers of the Emure local government were kidnapped along Ise-Ikere road.

    Jejelowo was returning to Ado Ekiti around 7.15pm with his official car when he was abducted on the way.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, Mr. Caleb Ikechukwu, confirmed the incident, saying the driver had been released.

    “We confirmed the kidnap incident on Monday. It happened along Ado-Ijan road and it involved the Director of Administration of Gbonyin local government and his driver.

    “But the driver has been released, we can confirm that to you. We are monitoring the situation and our men are working assiduously to ensure that the man is rescued from the hideout.

    “The driver has been giving us useful information that we are going to work on to facilitate the release”, he said.

    Ikechukwu added that the command is strategising on the way to tame the pillaging kidnappers, who were fond of abducting men of affluence with the sinister intention to collect ransom from them.

    The spokesman charged the members of the public to give sensitive and veracious information that would help in tracking down these miscreants.

     

  • [Graphic photo] Hit-and-run driver kills OOU final year student on Xmas day

    It was a black Christmas Day for the family of Boluwatife Oyeleye, a final year student of Urban and Regional Planning, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in the Ajah area of Lagos State.

    Eyewitnesses said the victim had just alighted from a vehicle and was about to cross the Lekki-Ajah Expressway at the Ilaje end when she was hit.

    It was gathered that she was dropped by the roadside by a motorcycle rider after no motorist volunteered to take her to a hospital.

    She died on the road.

    A colleague of the deceased, who identified himself only as Kareem, said Oyeleye was her parents’ only child.

    “She was in her finals. We were told that she had earphones in her ears and that prevented her from hearing the hoot of the car,” he added.

    An official of the Federal Road Safety Corps said the agency received a call to the incident around 8pm.

    He explained that on getting to the scene, officials were informed that her family had been contacted and the body handed over to them.

    He said, “We have a report of the accident. There is no pedestrian bridge at the point where she was hit. She had just been dropped by a vehicle and I believe she wanted to cross to the other side.

    “Immediately we received an alert, we went there to see if we could assist her to a hospital or know if she had been taken to any hospital around by someone. But the motorcycle riders in the area said her family came to take her remains. It was unfortunate.”

    A copy of the victim’s ID card sighted at the scene accident identified her as a final year student of OOU.

  • Badeh’s driver survived gunshot wounds, friend abducted – Police

    Badeh’s driver survived gunshot wounds, friend abducted – Police

    …as military, police launch manhunt for killers

    The military and the police have launched a probe into the murder of a former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh (retd).

    Some crack detectives have been deployed in Nasarawa State by Inspector-General (IG) Idris Kpotun Ibrahim.

    More details emerged on the murder of the former Chief of Air Staff on Wednesday, with the Nasarawa State Police Command confirming that his driver survived the attack.

    A friend of Badeh, who was also in the car, was abducted by the gunmen.

    The police and security agents are searching for the abducted friend.

    The details were contained in a statement on the preliminary investigation into the murder.

    The statement said: “The former CDS suffered gunshot injury which resulted to his death,while his driver was injured and the said friend abducted.

    “The corpse of the late Air Chief Marshal and the injured driver have been taken to Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Hospital, Abuja.”

    The statement confirmed that the probe of the incident was ongoing with the visit to scene of the murder by the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State Yahaya Bello and some senior military personnel.

    The statement added: Following the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State and some senior military personnel have visited the scene alongside IGP’s Intelligence Response Team ([RT) and Special Tactical Squad (STS), who are to carry out discrete investigation into the case.

    “The Police Command, Nigerian Army and Air Force personnel led by Deputy Commissioner of Police are in the area immediately the incident occurred with a view to rescuing the abducted person and arrest the perpetrators of this dastardly act.

    The Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State has called on members of the public with useful information that can aid the ongoing investigation to come forward with it or contact GSM lines 0803304I306 and 08033097663.

    He said such information shall be treated with utmost confidentiality.

    It was also learnt that pressure was being mounted on the deceased’s wife, Mary Iya Badeh and children to return to Nigeria for burial.

    Members of the family relocated abroad following the investigation and trial of the former CDS.

    Alex Badeh Jr. was grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the alleged N3.97 billion fraud involving the late CDS.

    But the son later managed to escape abroad.

    Badeh’s wife and daughter reside in the United States (U.S.). The whereabouts of others were unknown as at press time.

    A top intelligence source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said a comprehensive investigation into the killing of the ex-CDS has started.

    As at press time, some associates and relations of the ex-CDS have got in touch with his wife and children on the need to return home to bury the patriarch of the family.

    The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, commiserated with the family of the late four-star general, his friends and professional colleagues in the military, and the people and government of Adamawa State.

    Noting that the late Badeh, who was also a former Chief of Air Staff, attained professional fulfilment in his over three decades military career, Buhari regretted that he fell victim to incidence of violent and fatal attacks on the nation’s highways.

    He directed security agencies to find the killers of the 15th Chief of Defence Staff and bring them to face the law.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan extended his condolences to the Nigeria military, the entire people of Adamawa State and the family of the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff.

    Jonathan, according to a statement by his spokesman, Ilechukwu Eze, noted that Badeh, who served his administration as both Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, served the nation to the best of his abilities.

    Adamawa State Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow described the late former Chief of Defense Staff as a personality, who will be highly missed, especially the people of Adamawa State, who took much pride in him as an illustrious kinsman.

    Badeh hailed from a community near Mubi, Adamawa State’s leading commercial town and Bindow home.

    The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, described Badeh’s murder as “crude and senseless”.

     

  • FRSC urges drivers to rest after 4hrs of driving

    Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nasarawa Sector Command, has urged drivers to rest after four hours of driving.

    Mrs Faustina Alegbe, the state sector commander, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia on Wednesday that the move would prevent fatigue and accidents on the roads.

    Alegbe tasked drivers to take a minimum of 15 minutes after every four hours of driving to relax and energise themselves.

    “I want to use this medium to advise drivers to endeavour to take a break after every four hours of driving. At least, drivers should take a minimum of 15 minutes rest before continuing driving.

    “The time will afford them the opportunity to rest and assess their driving. The drivers can also use the 15-minute rest period to check the vehicle.

    “The rest period and checking of the vehicle will ensure that they arrive at their destination safely. Taking this break is very important because it prevents fatigue which is a factor that causes accidents on our roads.

    “We are harping on this break because we want our drivers to always be alert and fresh while driving,” she said.

    The Nasarawa state FRSC sector commander also advised drivers to minimise conversation with passengers while driving.

    “Anything form of distraction can lead to accident, a good driver even while chatting should not be distracted on the highway.

    “So, I want to urge passengers not to distract drivers with arguments, but keep them alert with light talk.

    “Use of phone while driving is distractive, even eating while driving is dangerous. So, I am appealing to both drivers and passengers to be safety conscious while in a vehicle transporting them to their destinations,” she said.

    Alegbe, however, said the state command had commenced the ‘ember’ months’ campaign.

    She appealed to all road users to inculcate the habit of constantly maintaining their vehicles before embarking on a journey.

    “I want to draw the attention of all road users to the fact that the ember months’ period is a period when the weather is very hazy and foggy.

    “So, road users have to imbibe safety precaution with regards to road usage.

    “They should ensure that the head lamps are very bright and in good condition, they also should check the brake of their vehicles before they embark on journey’’ she said.

    NAN

  • Driver seizes police woman’s phone, inflict injuries on her

    A 29-year-old driver, Ikechukwu Abonyi, on Wednesday appeared before a Kado Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja for allegedly assaulting a police woman while on lawful duty.

    Abonyi, who resides at Idu Abuja, is facing a three-count of causing obstruction, criminal intimidation and assaulting a police woman.

    He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Police Prosecutor, Judith Obatomi, told the court that the defendant was arrested by Corporal Elizabeth Elgege of the Area Command, Traffic Unit, Abuja, on August 8.

    Obatomi said that the defendant caused obstruction on the public highway.

    The prosecutor said that the defendant seized the police woman’s phone while on lawful duty and inflicted injuries on her.

    The offences contravened Sections 112, 273 and 397 of the Penal Code.

    The Judge, Alhaji Ahmed Ado, granted the defendant N50, 000 bail with one surety in like sum.

    Ado directed that the surety must be a member of Taxi Union Association in Abuja and must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

    He adjourned the case until September 12.

    NAN

  • Lagos fire: Police arrest tanker owner, driver still at large

    The Lagos State Police Command on Friday said it had arrested one Hassan Maiwake, the owner of the fuel-laden tanker that caused the explosion on Otedola Bridge, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    The command stated that the owner of the tanker with the number plate, NSR 888 YQ, was apprehended in Kano State.

    The ill-fated tanker had gone up in flames on Thursday, June 28, after losing control and spilling its content. Twelve persons were killed by the inferno while four others were injured. About 60 vehicles were also burnt.

    The spokesperson for the state police command, CSP Chike Oti, in a statement on Friday said Maiwake was tracked down by detectives from the State Criminal Investigation And Intelligence Department, Yaba, detailed to investigate the incident.

    The statement read, “The owner of the truck, Hassan Maiwake of 16, Hotoro Limawa, Kano State, was arrested on Thursday, July 26, 2018, in Kano and he is now helping the police to locate the driver of the ill-fated tanker.

    “The Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, assures members of the public that the command will do all it can to help families who lost their beloved ones in the accident a sense of closure by ensuring that anyone found culpable is brought to book.”

    The statement said a DNA test to ascertain the identities of the charred remains of nine of the deceased was ongoing, adding that further development would be communicated.

     

  • Lagos explosion: LASG confirms 12 dead, to prosecute truck owner, driver

    Lagos explosion: LASG confirms 12 dead, to prosecute truck owner, driver

    The Lagos State Government on Monday confirmed twelve casualties in the June 28 petrol tanker explosion on Otedola Link Bridge.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, made this known at a news conference in Lagos.

    According to him, 10 of the victims, including a minor, died at the scene of the accident, while two others died at the hospital.

    Idris urged private hospitals that might have patients from the accident to provide such information to the Ministry of Health for proper collation.

    According to him, of the 12 people who died, 10, including a minor, were taken from the scene of the accident completely burnt to the Yaba Mainland Hospital.

    “Seven people were taken with varying degrees of burns to our various hospitals.

    “First at our Accident and Emergency Centre at the Toll Gate, Trauma and Burns Centre, Gbagada General Hospital and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

    “Of the seven, unfortunately, we lost one of them that had a degree greater than 80 per cent burns.

    “Right now, we have only five left and they are being treated. Nobody received any money to treat them. They were treated free of charge.

    “We also received report over the weekend that some cases may have been taken to some other private hospitals.

    “So far, we are aware of only two of the hospitals and one of the victims has died,’’ the commissioner said.

    Idris said that two patients — a 48-year-old and 42-year-old, both males — were taken to the Burns and Plastic Unit, LASUTH.

    He said that one of the two males has been discharged, while the other was stable and responding to treatment.

    “While commiserating with the families of the victims who lost their lives and property in the unfortunate fatal explosion, I wish to state that the state government has left no stones unturned.

    “The government will continue to do the needful in addressing and managing all the issues surrounding the inferno,” he said.

    Also, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, Mr. Adeshina Tiamiyu, said that the state government had commissioned the ministry to conduct a DNA analysis of the remains of those burnt to death.

    Tiamiyu said: “Not everybody is required to go for the samples; samples will be taken from one of the relations of the victims, including the father or the mother, child of the victims, siblings or an uncle or aunt.

    “When the relations come, samples will be taken; from there, it will be cross-matched with samples taken from the victims.

    “When these are matched, we will be able to determine who the bodies represent and after this, we will hand them over to the families of the victims.

    “All of these are done free of charge, both the treatment and DNA test,“ he said.

    Tiamiyu said that LASEMA had opened a help desk to help counsel victims’ relations.

    Meanwhile the State’s Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal said the state was perfecting plans to prosecute the owner and driver of the ill-fated truck.

    Already, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem had at the weekend written to the CP to advise him on the relevant provisions of the law that could guide the ongoing investigation which would lead to possible prosecution.

    Confirming receipt of the letter while briefing Government House Correspondents after the Security Council Meeting chaired by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Edgal said investigations into the incident were ongoing, saying that government would not allow vehicles that pose serious danger to residents on the road.

    The police chief, who briefed journalists alongside heads of other security agencies in the State, specifically commiserated with those who lost their loved ones to the tragic incident, while also commending emergency responders who quickly raced to the scene to keep the causality figure low.

    “As regards investigation into the matter, it is in top gear. I have just received a letter from the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice which stated very clearly charges which we are going to prefer against the driver and the owner of that tanker.

    “Henceforth, we are using this opportunity to call on all tanker drivers, all lorry drivers, all owners of such articulated vehicles to please submit those vehicles for Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) test; they must go through the entire hub and get the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) Certificate of Road Worthiness. We will not allow such vehicles which obviously pose serious danger to other road users on our roads,” Edgal said.

  • Lady murdered in Abuja after firing guard, driver

    A woman identified as Onise Ismail, has been murdered by an unknown assailant at her residence in Citec Estate, Mbora, Jabi bypass, Abuja.

    The deceased, popularly known as Ize, was reportedly stabbed several times in her chest and in the neck till she gave up the ghost.

    According to a report by The Punch, she was buried on Sunday amidst wailing by her family and friends who thronged the cemetery in Abuja.

    Ize, who was living alone, was said to have fired her driver and gateman a week before her brutal murder.

    The Punch further reported that the incident occurred on May 14, 2018 when the woman who was said to be in her late 20’s stepped out of the house to put on her generator due to power outage.

    It was gathered that her attacker struck in the night when he knew she would be alone in the house.

    A family source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that after stabbing her to death, the assailant dumped her body in her room and ransacked the house for valuables before fleeing.

    “We learnt that a neighbour heard her pleading with her assailant not to kill her, but he (the neighbour) was too scared to intervene. By the time he went to check on her, she had given up the ghost and her assailant had fled. The yard and the room was soaked with the blood of the deceased,” the source narrated.

    It was gathered that detectives had commenced investigation into the homicide and a number of suspects had also been arrested.

    When contacted, the Federal Capital Territory Police spokesman, Anjuguri Manzah, promised to speak on the development but he had yet to respond to phone calls and text message as of the time of filing this report.

     

  • Sad! Driver commits suicide over protracted loan

    Sad! Driver commits suicide over protracted loan

    A bus driver, Ayokunle, has reportedly committed suicide at Oke Ibukun, Ondo town, Ondo State.

    A source said that Ayokunle who was found dead in his room on Saturday, allegedly took his own life by consuming poison after he could not repay a loan he took from a cooperative society.

     

    The source said the departed was an executive member of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria in the town.

     

    A member of the association, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he saw the late RTEAN member a day to his death, stressing that everyone in the area was shocked to hear of the suicide.

     

    “We were surprised to hear that he died on Saturday. I saw him on Friday and there was no sign that he would be no more on Saturday; it is sad,” he said.

     

    However, The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Femi Joseph, said the matter was not officially reported at any police station in the town.

     

    “I have contacted police divisions in Ondo town; I was told that the matter was not reported at any station,” he said.

    Saraki mourns as Senator Bukar is buried, former Reps member passes on

     

  • UPDATED: How ‘young, inexperienced driver’ caused fatal accident on Festac bridge [Videos/Photos]

    More facts have emerged on how a petrol tanker laden with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) tumbled and exploded on Festac link bridge in Lagos on Wednesday afternoon.

    A visit by TheNewsGuru.com to the scene of the accident which happened around 12:45 pm revealed that the tanker driver heading to the popular Apple Junction in Awumo Odofin lost control of the vehicle while making attempts to climb the bridge.

    Other vehicles lined up behind it couldn’t maneuver their way through before the tanker tumbled and busted out into flames.

    The driver of the commercial bus behind the tanker who spoke exclusively with TheNewsGuru.com said: “The was a short traffic this afternoon towards Festac bridge inwards Okota. I was directly behind a tanker laden with fuel. However, on getting to the tip of the bridge, the driver couldn’t climb on the bridge and he skidded back afterward. Before I could maneuver my way behind its back, the tanker had busted into flames. As soon as the tanker exploded, the driver who looked too young and inexperienced to drive it absconded. The ensuing pandemonium could not allow me to raise alarm when he ran. All the goods in my vehicle which belonged to some petty traders got burnt. It is estimated to cost over N100,000:00.

    A big casualty of the inferno who operates an automobile shop along the road could not control his emotions when he spoke with TheNewsGuru.com team.

    According to him, over 17 exotic vehicles worth over N78m was lost in the inferno.

    UPDATED: Loaded tanker falls, explodes, wreaks havoc in Festac [Video/Photos]

    In his words: “I can’t believe this is happening to me today. The tanker was driven by a young, uneducated and inexperienced driver. He (the driver) was finding it difficult to climb the bridge and this led to the explosion. All the exotic vehicles in my automobile shop are completely razed down. The vehicles are over seventeen (17) in number and its valued at over N78 million. How do I get back all these?” he asked almost shedding tears.