Bloody Xmas as container crushes 10 in Lagos

It was black Christmas yesterday in Lagos and Akwa Ibom states where 16 people met their untimely death in separate incidents. While at least 10 persons were feared dead after a container fell on a commercial bus along the Alaba Suru area of Lagos, six youths of the Okon Clan in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, were reportedly shot and killed as they clashed with men of the Nigerian Police.

Eye witness’s accounts claimed that the accident occurred at about 9:00 am. The accident was said to have been caused by a mad man who slept on the road, and a commercial bus was trying to avoid running over him. A mother, her four children, an old woman and four others were said to have been killed in the accident, with many others.

One of the victims, a woman, who survived, scaled through with two shattered legs. An eye witness said: “The accident was caused by mad man sleeping on the road. The commercial bus was trying to avoid crushing the mad man while the container was trying to avoid crushing the commercial bus.

“It all happened this morning at about 9:00 am. There was a commercial bus going to Okoko- Iyana Iba, scouting for passengers and there was a trailer laden with a container filled with vehicle engines. “There was a mad man lying on the road and a commercial bus was coming from Orile axis. The bus swerved to the left to avoid the mad man on the road and the container swerved also to the left to avoid the commercial bus.

“The container was about to scale the culvert, but the container fell to the right, and fell on the bus picking passengers. Those sitting on the ground died. A woman with four children were killed. An old woman and four others also died. A woman who survived had her two legs cut off in the accident.”

It was gathered that an ambulance bus rushed to the scene to take the accident victims to the hospital.

In Akwa Ibom State, six people were killed during a clash between some youths and police in Eket town.

Besides the dead six, three others are in critical condition and are receiving treatment in undisclosed hospitals in Eket town even as palpable tension has enveloped the area following threats of reprisal attack by youths of the community.

The trouble started in the early hours of yesterday when hundreds of youths of Okon said to be celebrating the annual Okon Day festival barricaded the major road leading to the oil city of Eket.

Our correspondent who was travelling that morning with his family to Eket witnessed scores of the youths wielding weapons such as machetes, dane guns, bottles and other missiles.

Obviously drunk, with some smoking marijuana, they blocked both human and vehicular traffic while at the same time extorting money from drivers and commuters purportedly for the celebration of the Okon Day festival.

But some men of the Nigeria police in Eket Division, coincidentally met the barricaded road while on patrol, and stopped by and tried to disperse the youths off the road for motorist to pass. The rampaging youths were said to have defied the order of the police to vacate the road which resulted to violence between the youths and the policemen during which one of the policemen was injured.