Serious tragedy struck on Saturday in Lokoja when the first rain of the year in the metropolis killed five people including a pregnant woman, Punch Metro reports.
The victims were said to have been trapped when a big tree feel across the road at Hydro Junction, Lokoja, at about 6pm, following a heavy storm.
The storm came barely one week when a similar incident was recorded in Okehi and Ogorimagongo, destroying properties worth millions of naira and rendering several homeless.
An eyewitness account revealed that some of the deceased where inside a tricycle popularly called ‘Keke NAPEP’, while others were passersby scampering for safety when the storm became heavy.
Expressing sadness, the Administrator of Lokoja Local Government Council, Ashiru Lawal, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that such an occurrence had never been recorded in the history of the local government.
He, however, stressed the need for the current administration to cut down old trees that could pose danger.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Williams Aya, an Assistant Supretendent of Police, said the police got the information at around 6pm and mobilised men and officers to the scene.
Explaining that although five people were involved in the accident, the PPRO said that only one person died while the four others, who were injured, were taken to the state specialist hospital, where they were receiving treatment.
