BusinessDay 20 Jul 2017

Thursday 20 July 2017
C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 23
CITYFile
ANGWA BOROR
FLOOD
Two Hours rainfall
that flooded million
of naira properties
away in Angwa
Boro along Kaduna
road in Tafa Local
Government Area
of Niger State on
Tuesday.
Pic by Tunde
Adeniyi
Calabar tank farm fire:
Victims get 2m from NEPZA
… eyewitnesses relive experience
MIKE ABANG, Calabar
Victims of Saturday’s tank farm fire
at the Calabar Free Zone Enterprise
(FZE) in Cross in River State,
have received their first major
financial relief from the Nigerian
Export Processing Zone (NEPZA).
Emmanuel Jime, managing director of
NEPZA, announced the donation of N2
million to victims on Tuesday. The FZE was
engulfed in fire on Sunday, leading to the
death of about persons, while several others
sustained varying degrees of injuries. Jime
was at the enterprise zone to assess the level
of damage to property.
The MD, who also visited the University
of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) where
some victims are receiving treatment, described
the incident as monumental tragedy
not only to the people of Cross River State,
but to the entire nation.
‘’The tragedy is of monumental proportion,
it shouldn’t have happened. I think
the spirit of human race is that we are able
to overcome and we have seen the spirit
on display here at the University of Calabar
Teaching Hospital. In the face of very daunting
challenges, this hospital has done tremendously
well, so far lives have been saved,
as an authority, there is very little we can do , I
Community seeks FG’s protection over renewed boundary clash
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
Communities in Ibiono, Itu and
Uruan local government areas
of Akwa Ibom State have sought
Federal Government’s protection
over the renewed border skirmishes
with Ikot Offiong community in Odukpani
local government area of Cross
River State.
Several houses and other property worth
million of naira have been reportedly destroyed
in the lingering boundary dispute
have directed the head of the CFTZ to initiate
a process of a little token of two million naira
to aid the victims”
Thamos Agan, the Chief Medical Director
(CMD) of UCTH said many people caught
in the fire were battling varying degrees of
burns. He disclosed that six persons were
brought dead, eleven others with severe
burns of 60-90 degrees, while four persons as
at Tuesday were dead, bringing the number
of dead to ten, while seven others are receiving
treatment at the hospital.
The Calabar FZE in Esuk Utan community
is host to several tank farms belonging
to different oil marketers. The fire was alleged
to have resulted from the illegal activities of
one of the tank farm operators.
Cityfile gathered that a vessel was supplying
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly
known as petrol to two of the tank farms
around 2:00am on Sunday. The distance
between the vessel and the tank farm is
about a kilometre.
While the discharge was going on, a staff
of one of the tank farms, identified as Sunny,
opened the pipes inside their premises to
siphon petrol. It was believed he was working
with others and had been successful for
a while until the pressure from where he
was siphoning flung him off. It could not be
ascertained what caused this. But the man
between the two states while many lives
have been lost on both sides from repeated
the attacks.
The latest clash erupted barely few days
after stakeholders from the affected areas
held a peace meeting attended by traditional
rulers, youth leaders and the deputy
governor of the two states. The meeting was
to bring an end to the hostilities and wanton
destruction of lives and property.
According to Ekong Demson, a community
leader from Ibiono Ibom local government
of Akwa Ibom State, the people of Ikot
was confirmed to have died on the spot.
The petrol now flowing in huge quantities
filled the premises and flowed through
gutters back into the river and into the Esuk
Utan community. This was around 4:00 am.
Members of the community were said to
have woken up to see petrol flowing through
their gutters and decided to scoop the product
for themselves.
It is believed there must have been a spark
which set off a fire and killed six of them on
the spot. The fire followed the petrol through
the gutters back to the vessel that supplied it
but the men on board managed to stop the
fire from engulfing the vessel, using sophisticated
fire-fighting equipment.
However, a fishing settlement on the waterfront
nearby was not so lucky. The settlement
which also serves as a fish market was razed
and seven residents lost their lives. According
to eyewitnesses, several wooden canoes and
engine boats were caught in the inferno.
Three vessels in the adjoining Nigeria
Ports Authority (NPA) were also affected
by the fire. The fire also affected the tank
farm where the problem started but it was
also checked by sophisticated fire-fighting
equipment in the premises.
A staff of one of the tank farms, who
craved anonymity, narrated the incident. “I
saw someone whose entire legs had melted
in the fire. It was only his bones that were
sticking out. I do not know if he would survive.
It was very horrible.
Offiong allegedly hired “mercenaries from
Cross River State armed with sophisticated
weapons to attack defenceless fishermen
along the river in Itu, killing one person
from Idu Uruan and seized several boats
and fishing nets.’’
Demson alleged that 17 armed mercenaries
were arrested by the security operatives
in May at the same location but were
later released adding that key functionaries
from the neighbouring state and at federal
levels were neck deep in the sponsorship
of the crisis.
Briefs
Ebonyi to launch ‘war’
against cultism
Ebonyi Government says it will begin
massive clampdown cult groups
from August in order to rid the state
entirely of cultists.
The governor, David Umahi said this
in Abakaliki during the launch of the
state’s new security outfit, code-named
‘Neigbourhood watch’.
According to Umahi, the onslaught
will be devastating as it will not spare cult
members whether in government circles
or other sectors of the state.
“We have compiled the names of individuals
in the state’s governance who
have decided to remain cultists, including
those in the House of Assembly and
other places.
“We would identify, publicly disgrace
and prosecute them as I am constructing
new prison buildings to give those of high
calibre decent accommodation,” he said.
The governor urged members of the
new security outfit to desist from drinking
inside bars or other drinking joints, noting
that it constituted an offence to do so.
Police arrest courier with
N17m drugs in Kano
The police in Kano have arrested a
22-year-old man, Stanley Arinze, for
allegedly transporting hard drugs
(Tramadol) worth N17.2 million from Lagos
to Kano.
The public relations officer in Kano,
Magaji Majiya said the suspect was arrested
on July 16.
“Arinze who resides at Jaba Quarters in
Kano is an indigene of Anambra state; he is
in police custody for transporting 25 cartons
of hard drugs (Tramadol tablets) valued at
N17.2 million from Lagos to Kano.’’
He said that the drugs were concealed
in LG Plasma TV to beat security agents
on the road.
“The suspect passed through security
checks from Lagos, but the trailer was intercepted
along Kano Eastern Bye-pass by
vigilant detectives” he said.
The police spokesperson said that the
suspect had confessed to the crime, and the
detectives had swung into action to arrest
his accomplices.
NAFDAC arrests 4 men in Aba
for revalidating beverages
The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration
and Control(NAFDAC),
Abia office, has arrested four men in
Aba for allegedly revalidating beverages.
Olisa Okeke, the Abia coordinator of NAF-
DAC, said that the arrested men relabelled
the beverages with new expiry dates.
Okeke said a joint team from Lagos and
Abia offices led by Emeka Onwuasonya arrested
the men at Eziukwu market on Monday.
The coordinator said that the suspects
were caught revalidating drinks in cans and
dairy products at the time of the arrests.
He said that the men had been moved
to Lagos for further investigation and prosecution.
Okeke said it was unfair for people to
fake or revalidate products, knowing it was
harmful to the body.
According to him, NAFDAC has devised
new means of tackling the menace and
would not relent in its efforts to check the
perpetrators.