By Felix Durumbah
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Department of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), popularly known as Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), today, March 20, weighed in on the Karu Bridge tanker fire and explosions which claimed at least 15 persons and led to the destruction of multiple vehicles.
Though the FCT Police Command said six persons died in the accident, eye witnesses and others countered the assertion, saying the figure was much higher.
The accident, which occurred in the evening of Wednesday, March 19, shocked Nigerians and literally set the social media on fire, sparking a flurry of criticisms from outraged members of the public,some of whom pointed fingers at the DRTS for allowing such articulated vehicle on the road in violation of an extant regulation limiting movement of such vehicles to after 10pm.
The development came as further gory details emerged from eye witnesses who recounted how some occupants of vehicles trapped in the inferno, futilely attempted to escape, with huge flames of fire engulfing their bodies,before succumbing to fiery deaths.
Responding to a question by peopleandpolitics.net on why the 10pm deadline was not being enforced by DRTS, Head of Information, DRTS, Mr Kalu Emetu said a recent court judgment removing DRTS personnel from the roads played a major part in the accident.
Expressing sorrow over the tragedy, Emetu prayed for the repose of souls of the deceased and extended condolences to the families of victims.
Nonetheless, he said the court judgment “is a challenge” which has hampered the vital agency’s personnel from carrying out some of their duties.
Recall that on October 2, 2024, Justice Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court in Abuja restrained the DRTS from stopping, impounding, or confiscating vehicles on the road.
Justice Maha,who handed down the order in a judgment on a fundamental rights enforcement suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/202, also barred the agency and its personnel from imposing fines on motorists, stressing that doing so was wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful.
But Emetu said:” That court judgment is a challenge. Our people wanted to go back to the roads,but the judgment is there. We’re a law-abiding agency.
“Had it been our men were on the road, our men from Kugbo axis, that accident would not have occurred.
“If the court had considered the role of our personnel, perhaps what happened in Karu Bridge, would not have happened.”
FCT Administration, he added, had already appealed the judgment for the interest of residents of the nation’s capital territory.
Heart-rending witness tales
Even as he spoke, heart-rending tales from eye witnesses continued to emerge from the tragedy.
One of the eye witnesses, Manbyen Nantip, narrated to peopleandpolitics.net the gory scenes that assailed her eyes.
She said she was on the passenger’s seat of a motorcycle which was coming from the Federal Capital City (FCC) to Masaka, in Nasarawa State and must necessarily pass through Karu Bridge.
According to her, even before she and the motorcycle operator ran into the scene, she saw thick billows of smoke wafting into the skies.
Nantip said the emerging scene before their eyes compelled them to alight from the motorcycle to fully take in the unfolding scenario.
Her words: ” A large crowd had gathered, but at a safe distance.
“A man with fire burning all over his body, dashed out of the flames, running towards we scared bystanders, screaming with all his strength and waving his arms for help.
“We fled on seeing him lest we too be caught up by the consuming flames. Then, another explosion, and he slumped, dead.
“What I was seeing was not funny. When we were on the bike,before reaching Karu Bridge, a long bus was among vehicles that overtook us on the highway. I recognized that bus when I saw it burning in the fire. It was engulfed in fire,with the passengers.
“I saw a man boldly try to come out of the bus into the surrounding fire. There was fire all over the place. The man managed to emerge, then entered a bike perhaps to flee to safety. Then, an explosion occurred and I saw the man slump on the ‘okada’ (commercial motorcycle), dead.
“There was a woman selling Hausa rice, with her wares on her head. The fire encircled her and just then, another explosion occurred. Next I saw was her blood splattered on her rice; she died on the spot.”
Asked how many dead bodies she counted, Nantip said:”Many, they were too many. Burnt bodies lay spread here and there. At the centre of the accident, because of the fire, noone could immediately go near there; many people inside the vehicles there were killed.
“Some people had their brains torn out. Some people lost their legs.
“The explosions threw cars up in the air. The cars had people inside. They couldn’t have survived the impact and the fire. I’ve never seen such in all my life.”
She vowed to give a testimony in her church on Sunday to praise Almighty God for sparing her life.
Another witness, who simply gave his name as Douglas, recounted that “many persons died.”
According to him, he arrived the scene a little late, saying, however, that what he witnessed will live in his memory for life.
“I saw the charred remains of people; people,like you and I, who had dreams of a better tomorrow and were from work or business, working to make their dreams a reality.
“I saw many, almost uncountable number of vehicles, at the time, burnt out. There was chaos around. Fire everywhere on the scene.
“Bystanders were screaming, many holding their heads. Tears everywhere. Blood on the ground, in vehicles. I lack words to fully describe what I saw,” Douglas said.
Presidency Reacts
Reports said an accident involving a tanker and trailer set off fires which resulted in explosions with several other vehicles coming behind joining the tragedy.
But, the Presidency refuted claims that a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinder on one of the articulated vehicles caused the accident.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, shared a statement and a one-minute video clip on X (formerly Twitter) displaying the intact CNG cylinder at the scene.
He wrote: “Here is the CNG cylinder in the cement truck that ran into a petrol tanker that exploded in Karu, Abuja, on Wednesday night.
“Contrary to earlier reports, the CNG cylinder was recovered intact. It did not explode. And it was not the cause of the tragic explosion.”
