From Linus Oota, Lafia

Eleven people died while several others sustained injuries yesterday in a fatal road accident along Nasarawa Eggon/Akwanga road involving a trailer and a commercial vehicle. The accident happened along the hill popularly known as ‘Many have gone’.

According to witnesses, the trailer carrying cement ran into a passenger vehicle and killed the driver and all passengers instantly. Passengers in other vehicles that ran into the truck also sustained various degrees of injuries.

At the time of filling in this report, the bodies of thee deceased were still lying by the side of the road. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Army and police were assisting in the rescue operation.

In another development, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has sealed13 petrol stations and seven LPG (cooking gas) refilling outlets across the state for contravening operational standards.

Briefing newsmen in Lafia, the state operations controller of the DPR, Abdulraham Mohammed, said the stations were shut down for adulteration of products, non compliance with safety standards, renovation without approval, operating without current license as well as operating illegally.

He gave a breakdown of the seven LPG refilling outlets sealed as six illegal skid LPG refilling points located in Nasarawa Eggon, Akwanga, Keffi and Karu axis of the state, and one LPG plant owned by Skywave Energy and Gas Limited, in Lafia, the state capital.

He said that the DPR, in collaboration with the Nasarawa Urban Development Board (NUDB) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) would also launch another aggressive exercise to dismantle all illegal petrol and LPG stations if they fail to comply with approved standards.

He said: “Anyone caught engaging in the illegal business, henceforth would be charged to court to serve as a deterrent to others nursing such idea.”

“I want to let the public know that DPR has since stopped the approval for LPG skid refilling points.

“However, those already approved and are in existence have been given the grace to operate from now till December 31, 2020.”

Mohammed urged the public to report the existence of any illegal LPG refilling point in their locality to the law enforcement agencies or the DPR for proper sanction that would guarantee safety.