Road crash: Akwa Ibom family loses five members

A tragedy has hit a family in Eket town, Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State as it lost five members in a road crash while they were returning from a church conference in Lagos.

The accident is said to have occurred along Ovie River road in Edo State along the notorious Benin-Asaba Expressway claiming five lives from the same family who were returning from a conference organised by the Salvation Army Church in Lagos.

Those who lost their lives included two brothers, a wife of one of them, a little girl who travelled with her parents and an unborn child as the deceased lady was pregnant as at the time of her death.

Samingo Etukakpan, head of the bereaved family who lost all the five family members, lamented the tragedy the family has been thrown into describing it as a “great moment of grief.”

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Etukakpan said: “It is a moment of grief for me and my family. This is indeed a bitter pill to swallow, losing five members of my family and my daughter in-law who was equally pregnant but I pray God to console me and members of my family as it is too hard for us.

According to the Salvation Army Nigeria territory commissioner, Daniel Kasuso, 12 officers, the driver and a baby were killed in the crash while others sustained various degrees of injuries.

“The Salvation Army Nigeria deeply regrets to announce that a group of officers who were returning from the just concluded officers’ councils, were involved in a fatal accident,’’ he said in a statement.

In a message of condolence to the family, Governor Umo Eno expressed “deep sadness of the government and people of Akwa Ibom State over the tragic incident, ” saying it was more painful because those who lost their lives were from close-knit families.

“My heart goes out to all those directly affected by this unfortunate incident. We stand ready to support the Church at this hour of grief and bereavement,’’ Umo Eno said in a statement by Ekerette Udoh, his press secretary.

Road traffic crashes claim over 40,000 lives annually in Nigeria, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps while road violations arising from speed, road signs or vehicle lights are the leading causes of road traffic accidents in the country.