News
SAD! D£ath Toll In Enugu Explos!on Stands At 11
….as eyewitnesses Claim Around 70 D£ad, 11 Vehicles B√rnt
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A horrific fuel tanker explosion occurred in Enugu State, Nigeria, on Saturday, resulting in the loss of many lives.
The tragic incident occurred at the Ugwu Onyeama, along Enugu- Onitsha expressway, when a fuel-laden tanker experienced brake failure while navigating the hilly road.
Recall that scores of people had been reportedly burnt to death in a petrol tanker accident that occurred at Ugwu Onyama Federal Highway on Saturday morning.
Also, several others were reportedly injured in the inferno which destroyed several vehicles.
SaharaReporters which visited the scene of the unfortunate incident learned that the petrol tanker which was going down to Enugu City, had a brake failure while descending the hilly road.
The tanker driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a water tanker belonging to JUHEL Nigeria Limited, which was going to 9th Mile to get water, causing a massive explosion that destroyed everything in its path.
The fire, which raged for a considerable distance of about 14 poles, engulfed 11 vehicles, killing their occupants. The Federal Road Safety Corps reported an official death toll of 11, though eyewitnesses estimated that the number of casualties was much higher.
They estimated that in tanker trucks – two people died; water tanker -one person; Toyota Camry – four persons; two Sienna buses – 16; a tricycle – four; Lexus – six; commuter bus – 19; minibus – eight; and L300 bus -14.
The drivers of the lowbed truck carrying an excavator and a Mack truck survived the accident without any injuries. Witnesses described the blast as devastating, with many victims burned beyond recognition.
An eyewitness, a tanker driver, who gave his name as Eziechina revealed that the tragic incident claimed so many lives.
He said some others who were injured have been taken to nearby hospitals.
He said, “Yes, there was a big tragedy this afternoon at Ugwu Onyama Federal Highway. A tanker carrying premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, fell at the hilly road and spilled the product down the road. Unfortunately, it caught fire and all the vehicles plying the road at the time caught fire and burned people beyond recognition.
“As I am speaking with you, over 10 people including children have been burnt beyond recognition. Some have just been loaded in a pick-up van to the morgue now. So many others have been loaded in a vehicle and taken to a morgue earlier. As we speak, there’s no road through Ugwu Onyama.
I am trapped somewhere in Ngwo. The situation is tragic. The second lane of the road is impassable. The fire raged along the road leading to Agu-abor tunnel.”
He lamented that rescue efforts were hindered by the intensity of the fire, making it challenging for bystanders to access the scene.
“Even two persons who came out of their vehicle thinking they could escape were caught in the fire and were burned to death.”
Meanwhile, a Federal Road Safety Corps officer who spoke to our reporter at the scene estimated that 99% of the victims were burned to ashes, making it difficult to determine the exact number of fatalities.
The road safety official said: “What we are doing now as you can see is that we are counting the number of the vehicles, their type and calculate the casualty figures based on the seating number.”
He added, “From my figure so far, nine vehicles were burned beyond recognition in addition to the tanker and water truck it collided with, making it 11 vehicles. A Mack truck was partially burned and nobody died in it. The lowbed truck carrying excavator was burned but luckily enough the driver escaped.”
According to him, “Looking at the vehicles, this is Toyota Camry, it carries four passengers and driver that is five; Sienna bus carries seven passengers and driver making it eight and we have two Sienna buses involved. We have a tricycle, which carries three passengers and with the driver, that makes it four; a Lexus vehicle involved; the relations of the occupants came and they were six in the vehicle.”
“We also have a commuter bus carrying mainly women from Nsukka and a bus normally carries 18 passengers and driver. The bus loaded passengers in Nsukka. We have a minibus and it carries seven passengers and a driver. We have L300 bus. Normally, it is a 14-seater bus and when you include the driver, the number will be 15. So you can calculate the figure. The lowbed truck carrying excavator and Mack truck; both drivers survived the incident,” he said.
The tragedy has sparked calls for the federal government to prioritise alternative transportation methods, such as railways and pipelines, to reduce the risks associated with tanker delivery systems.
Meanwhile, the Enugu State government has said that 11 persons died in the incident, while noting that Governor Peter Mbah has expressed sadness over the accident.
In a statement by the Governor’s media office, the governor spoke when he visited the scene for on-the-spot assessment.
According to the statement, the government has already swung into action to ensure that the victims receive full medical attention, while also taking steps to forestall future occurrences, including enforcement of road rules and fixing the part of the federal road in disrepair.
Describing the accident as unfortunate, Mbah commiserated with the families of the victims.
He further directed the Federal Road Safety Commission’s Sector Commander, Enugu, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, and the State Commissioner for Transport, Mr Obi Ozor, to ensure that all tankers conveying inflammable substances in the state have anti-spill lock that will prevent spill in case of accident.
“This is an accident involving a tanker that preliminary investigation shows may have had a brake failure, fell down, had its product, premium motor spirit spill from the tank and ignited. So, this is for us a tragedy where we have some casualties.
“But as I said, investigation is still at preliminary stages. The police and other law enforcement agencies are on it. We want to get to the root of this for us to understand the true cause of the accident.
“In the meantime, we have moved those that are in need of treatment to the hospitals for full medical attention. My Commissioner for Health and also my Special Adviser on Health, the Chief Medical Director of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital (ESUTTH), Parklane, Enugu, the police, and Federal Road Safety Corps are all involved. They have my instruction to ensure that maximum medical attentions were given to the survivors,” the governor stated.
Continuing, he stated, “But we’re also taking quick measures as a government.
” I have just been speaking the head of the Federal Road Safety Corps to make sure they enforce the rules that prohibit tanker drivers from the road without an anti-spill lock. Tankers conveying premium motor spirit and inflammable products must have an anti-spill lock to ensure that when these trucks fall down, they do not spill (their content). It is very important.
“Also, for us as a government, we are going to be looking at how we can deploy some traffic rules to ensure that we do not have a recurrence of this.
“We are obviously not going to wait for the federal government to fix the other section of the road. We as government are going to take steps to ensure that whatever needs to be done on that section of the federal road is done immediately so we would never want a reoccurrence of this.”
While briefing the governor on some of the preliminary investigation conducted by the FRSC. Its Sector Commander for Enugu explained that the tanker spill was caused by a brake failure.
He added that 11 people lost their lives at the scene, adding that injured road users were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
He thanked the governor for showing leadership by rushing to the scene and equally undertaking to foot the medical bills
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, secured the conviction and sentence of the duo of Babatunde Peter Olaitan and Tobilola Olamide to six months imprisonment each for mutilation of the Naira notes.
They were jailed by Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The convicts were arraigned on a separate one-count charge of tampering with the Naira notes and spraying, to which they each pleaded “guilty”.
The charge against Olaitan reads: “That you, BABATUNDE PETER OLAITAN, on 8th April 2025, at 23, Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N200 (Two Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying it, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
The charge against Olamide reads:”That you, TOBILOLA OLAMIDE A.K.A TobiNation, on 8th April 2025, at 23 Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with funds in the denomination of N200 (Two Hundred Naira) issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria by spraying it, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank Act, 2007.”
In view of their pleas, prosecution counsel, C.C. Okezie and H.U.KofarNaisa, respectively, reviewed the facts of the cases through Ibrahim Bukar, an investigative officer with the EFCC.
In his evidence, Bukar specifically told the court that the Commission, on April 10, 2025, generated an intelligence-driven investigation on TikTok, where Olaitan, also known as TDollar, was seen spraying Naira notes.
He also told the court that “Upon the approval of the intelligence by the Zonal Director, a letter of investigation was sent to the defendant, requesting him to make a statement regarding the video.
“The defendant reported to the Special Operations Team, SOT, on May 5, 2025 and his statement was recorded under caution.
“He stated that he went to a night club on April 8, 2025 and met some of his fans sharing money.
“ He also said that a fan, in the process, gifted him a bundle of N200 notes, which he sprayed on some of his other fans.
“He was shown a video of him spraying the money and he made a statement regarding it.”
Consequently, the defendants’ extrajudicial statements and video recordings were rendered and admitted in evidence by the court.
Okozie and KofarNaisa, therefore, respectively prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendants accordingly.
Justice Owoeye convicted and sentenced both Olaitan and Olamide to six months imprisonment each, with an option of fine in the sum of N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira.
The convicts’ road to the Correctional Centre started when they were arrested by operatives of the EFCC for Naira abuse. They were charged to court and convicted.
The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate remand of Lagos-based businessman and socialite, Fred Ajudua, in connection with a $1.43 million fraud case dating back over three decades.
In a unanimous ruling delivered on Friday, the apex court overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier granted Ajudua bail.
The court held that the appellate court erred in its judgment and directed that Ajudua be returned to correctional custody without delay.
It was learned that Ajudua is now in hiding following the court’s decision.
“Ajudua escaped after the Supreme Court ordered that he should be returned to prison,”, a source disclosed and its currently unclear if he is still in Nigeria.
The case, which has spanned more than 30 years, stems from allegations that Ajudua defrauded a German company of $1.43 million through an advance fee fraud scheme—commonly referred to as a “419” scam in Nigeria.
A letter dated August 26, 1993, from the Embassy of the State of Palestine accused Ajudua of obtaining the funds under false pretence from one Ziad Abu Zalaf, a Palestinian businessman based in Germany. The funds were allegedly siphoned under the pretext of business transactions with Nigerian government agencies.
It was gathered that Ajudua and his accomplice, Mr. Joseph Ochunor, fraudulently collected sums of $268,000 and $225,000 from Zalaf on April 2 and May 12, 1993, respectively. They forged official documents, including receipts from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, to make the transactions appear legitimate.
Following an extensive investigation, a 12-count charge was filed against Ajudua before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja. Initially arraigned before Justice Josephine Oyefeso, the case was later reassigned to Justice Mojisola Dada following a refiling of charges.
Ajudua’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), later approached the Court of Appeal, where a panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba granted bail on the grounds of constitutional rights and allowed the businessman to continue under his existing bail terms.
However, In its decision on appeal number SC/CR/51/2019, the Supreme Court, through Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, ruled that the Court of Appeal acted outside its jurisdiction by granting bail after striking out Ajudua’s brief of argument for incompetence. The apex court held that any judgment or relief stemming from such a defective brief was legally void.
The Supreme Court further ordered that trial resume before Justice Dada of the Lagos State High Court without further delay.
The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), an affiliate of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has shut down operations at MDV Sacks Ltd, a subsidiary of the Bhojsons Group, over alleged exploitation, inhumane treatment, and racial discrimination against over 300 Nigerian workers.
The company, located within the Lafarge Cement premises in Ewekoro, Ogun State, is accused of compelling its factory workers to pay N18,000 for protective boots while refusing to provide basic employment rights, including allowances, annual leave, and formal employment letters.
The union also alleged that MDV Sacks Ltd actively suppresses workers’ rights to unionize, a clear violation of Nigeria’s labour laws.
On Monday, members of the Textile Union, backed by other NLC-affiliated unions, stormed the factory in a protest that disrupted activities at the facility. The demonstrators, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with messages like “Injury to one is injury to all” and “MDV Lafarge management, stop harassment and intimidation of workers”, called on all employees to vacate the premises until their grievances are addressed.
While the majority of workers complied and walked out in support of the union, a handful reportedly remained on duty.
Deputy General Secretary of NUTGTWN, Comrade Emeka Nkwoala, who addressed journalists during the protest, expressed deep concern over the company’s failure to honour commitments reached during a mediation meeting held on May 7, 2025.
“At the meeting, it was agreed that union activities would be allowed to commence without obstruction and that workers would be given formal employment letters,” Nkwoala said.
“Unfortunately, the management of MDV Sacks Ltd has gone back on its word. Some of our members have been unjustly laid off, while others are subjected to degrading and exploitative working conditions. There are clear rules of engagement under Nigerian law, and we will not allow modern-day slavery to persist under any guise.”
Nkwoala further accused the company of fostering a culture of racial discrimination, alleging that Nigerian workers are treated unfairly in comparison to their expatriate counterparts.
He described the demonstration as peaceful and orderly, adding that the Ogun State Ministry of Labour has now stepped in to mediate. According to him, the Ministry has directed that the status quo be maintained, with sacked workers recalled and all outstanding entitlements paid.
The union has vowed to continue its advocacy until the affected workers receive justice and the company is held accountable for its actions.
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