TELL Magazine

• ….. As Edo Govt Carries out Remedial Work on Failed Portion of Benin-Ore Road

A Nissan pick-up truck that plunged into the Ovia River on the outskirts of Benin City, Edo State on Monday, has been recovered by men of the Federal Road Safety Corps and local divers in Ovia North East local government area of the state.

The fate of occupants of the ill-fated vehicle whose number could not be ascertained, was however unknown though local divers engaged by the state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, had been busy combing the waters and the surrounding swamps searching for them, even as the hope of their being rescued alive waned.

Speaking on the development, the Sector Commander, of Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), Paul Okpe, said “The vehicle was pulled out but the divers are still trying to get the occupants; the vehicle is a Nissan Frontier pick-up”. There were initial reports that the vehicle involved was a fully-loaded commuter bus.

Recall that Shaibu, who was on a visit to the bridge on Monday in respect of an accident that claimed 11 lives last Thursday, met the incident and he intervened by immediately hiring some local divers to retrieve corpses of victims from the river.

In company with the state Commissioner for Roads and Bridges, Ethan Uzamere, and other senior government officials, Shaibu monitored the diversion outwards, at Kilometre 19 of the Benin-Ore Expressway with adequate caution signs put in place, including reflective cordone tapes and barricades to serve as adequate caution signs to road users.

The deputy governor disclosed that the state government has engaged the services of Levante, a construction company, to commence remedial work in the affected portion of the road.