Five die in Anambra auto crash
Five persons lost their lives in a road accident that occurred at the Odumodu Junction by Nteje, along the Onitsha-Awka Expressway, Anambra State, on Friday. The road crash involved two vehicles, a Mitsubishi L300 commercial bus with registration number: XE245AWK and a commercial Daf/Leyland truck with registration number: T-19094LA. It was gathered that the accident which occurred at about 7:30am was caused when the container of the truck fell on the commercial bus, as the driver was navigating through the failed portion of the road.
According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the two vehicles were en route to different locations – one was said to be going to Awka while the other was going to Onitsha. About 10 people, comprising three male adults and seven female adults were involved in the crash.
The source said, “Five persons, all female, were killed, while two male adults and two female adults sustained various degrees of injuries and one male adult was rescued unhurt. “The two vehicles got to the spot at the same time and due to the weight of the truck, the container fell on the bus and crashed.”
The acting Sector Public Education Officer for Federal Road Safety Corps, Margaret Onabe, confirmed the accident in a statement on Friday. Onabe said the probable cause of the fatal crash was attributed to the failed portion of the road. She said, “10 people comprising three male adults, seven female adults were involved in the crash. Five female adults were killed while male adults and two female adults sustained varying degrees of injuries and one male adult was rescued unhurt.
“The FRSC rescue team from RS5.33 Nteje took the injured victims to Divine Care Hospital, Umunya for medical attention, while the dead victims were taken to Chira Hospital for doctor’s confirmation before deposition at New Jerusalem Mortuary, Nteje. “As of the time of this report, the sector commander in collaboration with the unit commander in Nteje is making efforts to remove the obstruction caused by the crash.
“The Sector Commander Anambra State, Corps Commander Adeoye Irelewuyi, sympathised with the families of the dead victims and prayed for their repose souls, he also wished the injured victims quick recovery. “He urged motorist to drive with caution and be observant of their environment when driving. Drive to Arrive Alive.”
Source: Punch
UPDATED: Supreme Court affirms Mbah’s Enugu gov election victory
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the last Enugu State governorship election, Uche Nnaji, challenging the victory of Governor Peter Mbah. Mbah was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party during the election.
The APC candidate, who polled a total of 14,575 against Mbah’s 160,895 votes, to place a distant fourth in the election, asked the court to disqualify Mbah; the Labour Party Chijioke Edeoga, and that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Frank Nweke Jr. He claimed the candidates were not qualified to contest the election, having allegedly run foul of the asset declaration law among other reliefs.
Nnaji petition was dismissed by the Justice K.M Akano-led Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on June 20, 2023. Dissatisfied, Nnaji approached the court of appeal, praying it to send the dismissed petition back to the Tribunal for hearing and determination of the suit.
The Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Tribunal and dismissed the suit, awarded the sum of N250,000 each against Nnaji and the APC.
Delivering judgement on the appeal, a five-member panel of the apex court on Friday held that the legal team of the APC and Nnaji filed an invalid brief of argument and failed to convince the court with cogent reason why the appellants’ incompetent brief should be allowed.
In the lead judgment, Justice Tijani Abubakar held that since the appellant’s brief was found to be invalid, the invalidity also affected the appeal in respect of which the appeal was filed. He proceeded to dismiss the brief and appeal filed by the appellants.
Source: Punch