AMAECHI OKONKWO writes on the tragedy that befell commuters on the Eleme axis of the East-West Road in Rivers State last Friday.
Dateline, Friday, April 26. Night had fallen and it was the usual crawling traffic between the Akpajo junction and the Aleto bridge in Eleme, Rivers State, along the East -West Road, as motorists on that route manoeuvered to escape the gridlock and get home to a promising weekend of rest.
Unfortunately, that axis, already known for its slow flow of traffic, was experiencing almost no movement all, worsened by the narrowing of the road due to construction work by Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), the firm handling the reconstruction of the Eleme-Onne axis of the East -West Road.
Ongoing construction work results in chaotic traffic situation caused by heavy duty trucks, hundreds of smaller vehicles plying that route, coupled with faulty stationary vehicles on the road, all at the same time.
While people were wondering what has caused the no-movement situation at that point in time, it was discovered that two trucks, a fuel tanker and a truck in the course of jostling for traffic crashed into each other.
The fuel tanker laden with petrol motor spirit (PMS) began to leak, spilling its content on the road. Thousands of litres of petrol began to flow under the long trail of vehicles trapped in the traffic.
Reports have it that while frantic efforts were on to clear the traffic congestion, boom, an explosion occurred. The ensuing fire followed the trail of the spilt PMS, setting on fire everything, commuters, trucks, vans, cars.
Nothing on its trail was spared. The fire raged all through that night.
The traffic congestion did not allow firetrucks from nearby Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Port Harcourt Refinery and other companies dotting that area to reach the conflagration.
Those who managed to escape from their vehicles watched helplessly.
By Saturday morning, when the fire had died down, the scene of the incident was assessed.
Five persons were confirmed dead, including a pregnant woman while about 120 vehicles of different categories were destroyed by the inferno.
The Rivers Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Chris Kuje, after an inspection of the scene of the incident, confirmed the cause of the disaster.
He said: “Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident happened on the Eleme East-West Road which is currently under renovation.
“Two truck drivers were jostling for space when their vehicles collided sideways, causing a rupture in the trailer of one truck carrying petroleum which resulted in petrol leaking onto the road and igniting into fire explosion.”
He said the personnel of FRSC deployed to the scene controlled traffic and created diversion through Oyigbo as alternative route to ease congestion.
Kuje added that: “We met the directive of the governor of Rivers State to ensure that the road is freed for movement before the close of the day.
“We mobilised Indorama Petrochemicals to provide a crane that successfully removed all the trucks from the road at about 5:30pm. The carcasses were also evacuated by low bed trucks provided by the same company.
“Staff from three Commands namely RS6.1 (Rivers sector), RS6.11 (Eleme Unit Command) and RS6.16 (Obiakpor Unit Command) were mobilised to the scene for effective traffic management.
Vehicular movement was fully restored by removing all obstructions.”
Earlier, on Saturday morning, the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara visited the scene of the carnage where he expressed sadness about the accident, and condoled with bereaved families.
He was accompanied by the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, and the State Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Uchechukwu Nwafor.
The governor explained that he got a call from the Managing Director of Indorama Petrochemical and Fertiliser Company Limited in Eleme Local Government Area, informing him of the incident.
Governor Fubara said: “We are here to see for ourselves and get a first-hand information of the incident of what happened yesterday night.
“About 7.30pm to 8pm, we got information of the gravity of the incident. I was told that it was caused by a tanker vehicle that was conveying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
“In fact, I got the information through the MD of Indorama, and I immediately alerted the security agencies to make sure they take control of the security situation in the area.
“And from what we are seeing this morning, it was not a pleasant case.”
He explained that he had already requested the relevant government agencies to provide him a detailed account of their findings to enable the State Government to take appropriate decisions and actions to significantly remedy the situation.
“I have already asked the relevant agencies to give us a full brief so that we can come into the situation fully by seeing to how much we can support the families that are bereaved, and also cushion the effect of the losses, which I believe, is no fault of a good number of them.
“We all know the situation of this road. It is really unfortunate. Most of our people, when plying this road, should ply it with caution.
“I believe very strongly that this situation would have been avoided, if the motorists had behaved properly. But it is late already. The damage has happened. This is the situation we have found ourselves. We will see how we can control the aftermath,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ogoni Youth Federation (OYF), has demanded immediate responsibility from RCC and the Federal Government, including full compensation for the victims’ families.
The federation representing Ogoni youths warned that failure to do so will result in legal action and seeking justice through international channels, including the International Criminal Court (ICC).
OYF President, Dr Legborsi Yamaabana, reiterated the OYF’s commitment to pursuing justice and ensuring the safety and security of their people until accountability is achieved.
He expressed “profound sorrow over the catastrophe attributing it to the absence of a detour on the dilapidated road, resulting in significant loss of lives and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.”
Yamaabana criticised RCC for failing to implement alternative detours despite the heavy traffic flow along the critical artery.
He said; “While we mourn with those who are grieving, we must also address the root cause of this avoidable disaster.”
He added that “It is unacceptable that RCC failed to create alternative detours before commencing construction, despite being fully aware of the heavy traffic flow along this critical artery. We strongly condemn RCC for prioritisation of profits over the safety and well-being of the people.
“It is unconscionable that RCC would engage in practices here in Nigeria that they would never dare to attempt in their home country of Israel. This blatant disregard for basic safety measures has resulted in the loss of innocent lives and extensive damage to property.”
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