Straight from the Headlines! What Everyone was Talking About This Week

This week started on a sad note for Nigeria.

On Sunday 3rd of June, 2012, a fatal plane crash in the country took away the lives of 153 passangers aboard the Dana Air plane and several others in their homes where the plane crashed on. On the same day, a suicide bomber drove into a church  in Bauchi state and detonated some explosives killing about 15 people and injuring many others. And just as Nigerians are getting over the shock of the sad incidents, a suicide bomber detonated the explosives in his car, killing yet to be confirmed number of people at the police headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno state today, Friday 8th June, 2012.

Indeed a sad week.

I pray for the families of those that have lost their loved ones at this terrible time. May God grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.

Here’s a recap of some of the stories that made headlines across the country this week.

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Governor Babatunde Fashola has rescued and taken custody of three kids whose parents have been missing since the DANA Air aircraft crashed into their Iju-Ishaga neighbourhood at Iju, Agege, a Lagos suburb, on Sunday. The homeless children; Joel Okechukwu (11), Chisom Okechukwu (9) and Esther Okechukwu, whose age could not be immediately ascertained, were wandering around when they were spotted and rescued by the governor during his visit to the site on Monday, June 4th 2012. The children, who were taken to the Goverment House, Ikeja, were sent on errands by their parents, Mr Jeremiah Okechukwu and Mrs Josephine Okechukwu, when the aircraft hit their home and reduced it to a rubble. The emergency response officials working on the crash site as at Monday had yet to ascertain whether the couple were dead or still trapped in the debris.

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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, June 4th 2012 shed tears during his visit to the site where a Dana plane crashed on Sunday evening, killing everyone on board in Lagos. The president promised a thorough investigation into the incidence that led to the crash. “We have been working very hard to improve aviation in this country,” Mr Jonathan said. “This particular incident is a major setback for us … I will make sure that this will not repeat itself in the country.” More than 153 people were killed when the domestic passenger plane travelling from Abuja, crashed into a heavily populated area, Iju Agege, Lagos around 3:45pm on Sunday.

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The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed the suspension of the operating license of Dana Airline, the operator of the MD 83 jetliner that crashed in Lagos on Sunday killing all 153 passengers on board. The government said it took the decision to allow for a free and unfettered investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash of flight #992 in Iju area of Lagos. The suspension of Dana Air’s operating licence came few hours after a Nigeria senator moved a motion requesting the authorities to ground Dana’s air fleet.

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Llyods of London, the group insurer of Dana Airlines, said that it would pay adequate compensation to the families of the victims of last Sunday’s air crash at Iju-Ishaga, a Lagos suburb. Mr Yomi Oshinkoya, the Lloyds Correspondent, disclosed this on Wednesday 6th of June at a joint news conference addressed by officials of the Lagos State government and Dana Airline. The Dana plane crash resulted in the death of 153 passengers on board and six others on ground, while property, running into millions of naira, were destroyed. Oshinkoya said that compensations would be paid to the victims families, according to aviation standards, adding that people should not be afraid that the accident occurred in Nigeria. He assured all the families of the victims that the airline was well insured and would live up to its liability bidding in this regard. “The international law and standards stipulate that the sum of 30,000 dollars (N4.6 million) must be paid to each of the victims’ family within the first 30 days of the accident, as initial payment. A sealing of 100,000 dollars (N15 million) should be paid to the victims family after they must have completed all the requirements expected of them by the law,’’ Oshinkoya said.

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The collapse of the 50-year-old Abakpa-Nike Bridge in Enugu State capital on Wednesday night followed by an intense rainfall on Thursday caused heavy traffic build up in the city. Residents of the densely populated Abakpa-Nike who passed through the bridge late Wednesday evening woke up Thursday morning to discover to their that the bridge had collapsed, cutting them off from other parts of the city. Mindful of the severe hardship which the residents would encounter on account of the incident, Governor Sullivan Chime, who returned from a trip to Abuja yesterday drove straight to the scene and quickly mobilized the Arab Contractors to commence repair work on the bridge, which one of the embarkments was washed away by flood. The state government, according to the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, is determined to get the bridge repaired without delay hence the quick mobilization of the construction firm to the site yesterday.

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