8th December, 2010
Mr. Emmanuel Okenyi, the Financial Correspondent of the Nigerian Observer in Lagos State , South West Nigeria and his brother, Tony, were among the casualties of last week’s tanker fire at Alakija area of Mile 2, Lagos, P.M.NEWS has learnt.
Emman, 41, as fondly called by friends, left his wife, Rachel and a child at Festac town in the early hours of 2 December, 2010 with his junior brother, Tony, heading to Benin, the Edo State capital where he worked with the Nigerian Observer newspaper.
Little did he and his brother knew that they have embarked on a journey of no return.
According to Mr. Raheem Ibrahim, Lagos State Correspondent, Observer, Emman and his brother boarded a commercial bus going to Mile 2 Bus Stop where they intended to enter another bus that would take them to Benin, “but the journey was cut short by a tanker driver who was over speeding.â€
“We were made to understand that at about 5.45 a.m. that day, a tanker with registration number XZ 777 JJJ, loaded with premium motor spirit was involved in an accident near Fin-Niger Bus-Stop. The driver reportedly ran into a ditch under circumstances yet to be ascertained. The contents spilled on the road and it eventually went up in flames.
“The tanker and seven other vehicles were burnt, while Emman, Tony, other passengers in vehicles and a man with his pregnant woman and two kids were burnt beyond recognition. Eight others sustained various degrees of burns,†said Ibrahim.
It was gathered that a car which had overtaken the tanker suddenly moved in front of the long vehicle and the tanker driver whose break was not functioning well attempted to maneuver to avoid ramming into the car. In the process, he lost control and the tanker fell on its side and spilled its content on the road. It later caught fire.
The commuter bus boarded by Emman and his brother was caught in the accident and it caught fire.
“If the driver of the tanker had not been on speed, he could have easily applied the break and stop the trunk without causing any havoc.
“It is high time that government should follow the Republic of Benin law that all tankers must only at night and the vehicles must be in order so as to save our people,†Ibrahim said.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga