Judex Okoro, Calabar
A Toyota saloon car on Tuesday skidded off the road and rammed into a market in Ugep community in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State, killing eight persons and destroying shops in the process.
The incident, which occurred at about 5:00pm, was due to break failure that led to lost of control by the driver.
Daily Sun checks revealed that the car was coming from Abi Local Government Area and at Ediba junction in Ugep town, the break failed and the driver rammed into several shops and killed three persons, including a young man and two ladies on the spot.
The five others injured were said to be taken to a private hospital where they later died.
The driver, simply identified as John Egbe, an indigene of Abi, is said to be seriously injured and receiving treatment in an undisclosed private clinic in Ugep.
A witness, Emmanuel Ubi, said: “I was just walking down to the market at about 5:00pm when I saw the Toyota Camry crashing through several shops following a break failure. In the process, three persons were crushed on the spot while five others were injured and rushed to the hospital. Besides, goods and property worth several millions of naira were destroyed.
“It is an unfortunate incident that could have been avoided if the driver, who, he claimed, knows the terrain very well, had not ben on high speed.
“I feel very sad over the tragedy. I had expected the driver to know that Tuesdays are usually our market day in Ugep where traders from nearby communities usually come to buy food stuffs and other agro-produce. Therefore, he needed to drive safely when approaching the junction connecting the market.
“I can tell you that the other five persons rushed to the hospital have all died while three more are still receiving treatment and not sure whether they would survive,” he said.
Another witness, identified as Mbogha Ejom, decried the reckless driving and series of accidents that have occurred at the Ediba-Ugep junction, especially during festive periods when motorists are always in a hurry to catch up with the season’s transport boom.
According to him, it is time local government authorities constructed speed-breakers on that spot to curtail the rate of accidents and subsequent loss of lives and property.
He also called on local government authorities to relocate the roadside markets in Ugpe urban considering the volume of traffic on the Ikom-Ugep-Calabar highway.
A local government official, Emmanuel Iwara, said they have done everything possible to relocate the market to no avail.
“The market authorities have been chasing these traders out of the street trading, especially on this highway axis. But the moment the market task force closes for the day, the traders would return because they make brisk business.. We hope to reinforce the no-highway trading by-law and enforce stiffer penalties to avoid this kind of carnage,” he said.