From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
One person has been injured in an accident allegedly caused by illegal revenue collectors at Upper Iweka in Onitsha, Anambra State.
It was gathered that the revenue collectors in a bid to collect money from the driver chased the truck driver into a gutter trapping the conductor inside the ditch.
The incident angered the truck drivers who used their vehicles to block the major road in protest, causing serious gridlock for about five hours between River Niger Bridgehead and Boromeo roundabout along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, where travellers spent hours before continuing their journey outside the state.
An eyewitness Ngozi Onyebuchi said the accident at Upper Iweka Onitsha was caused by the illegal revenue collectors who chased the truck driver to a ditch.
“The truck driver was being chased by the illegal revenue collectors and in the process of trying to escape, the driver ran into a ditch.
“When the driver could not control his vehicle, he fell into the ditch and he jumped out, but his conductor was not lucky to escape but was trapped for some hours before help came,” she said.
It took the efforts of Federal Road Safety Corps officials who brought a crane to rescue the trapped conductor of the truck and rushed him to the hospital and gradually cleared the road for the flow of traffic.
FRSC State Sector Commander Mr Adeoye Irelewuyi, who confirmed the accident, said the truck drivers protested against the activities of touts (“agberos”) which led to the crash on Tuesday.
According to him, the trapped victim has been successfully evacuated alive and taken to Boromeo hospital for proper medical attention.
He appealed to the protesting truck drivers who blocked the expressway to allow free flow of traffic, saying that government will look into the matter to proffer a lasting solution.
Recalled that two weeks ago tipper drivers block bridgehead Onitsha in protest against illegal revenue collection and a high rate of revenue collection meted against them along the roads.