At least one person has died, with three others injured, in a tanker explosion on the Otedola Bridge in Lagos.

The tanker, laden with Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol, burst into flames on Tuesday night, a situation that forced residents and motorists to scamper for safety.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the casualty figure in a statement.

“Three adult male victims with severe burns have been rescued and transferred to Gbagada General Hospital burns unit while the remains of an adult male were also recovered.

“All hands remain on deck to extinguish the flames. Motorists are urged to take alternative routes where possible,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

Earlier, Oke-Osanyintolu said the agency’s Tiger Response Team was on the scene working to bring the situation under control.

He added that the road has been cordoned off, urging motorists to take alternative routes.

In the same vein, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, confirmed the accident in a statement.

LASTMA, in a post on X, said the fire affected nearby structures, including a church, residential house, and mechanics’ parks at Otedola under bridge, adjacent to CMD Road, adding that emergency responders were on ground to handle the situation.

“A tanker has fallen and caught fire, affecting nearby structures, including a church, residential house, and mechanics’ parks at Otedola Under Bridge, adjacent to CMD Road,” the statement read.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, told the United Nations Inter-Parliamentary Union on Tuesday that she had been illegally suspended by the Nigerian Senate.

Natasha, who accused the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of sexual harassment, was recently handed a six-month suspension over her alleged conduct in the Red Chamber.

Speaking at the Women in Parliament session held on Tuesday at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting in New York, Senator Natasha described the suspension as illegal.

The lawmaker, who broke down in tears while delivering her report, demanded justice, saying she had been silenced.

She said, “I came with a heavy heart from Nigeria. I am not here to bring shame to our country but to seek help for the women in Nigeria.

“I was suspended illegally because I submitted a petition of sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“I was silenced and suspended. I was suspended for six months with many stringent conditions, such as the withdrawal of my security and all official vehicles assigned to me as a senator.

“My salary was cut off, and I was prohibited from appearing anywhere within the National Assembly. For six months, I must not introduce myself as a senator in Nigeria.

“I have nowhere else to turn but here. This is a clear case of political victimisation.”

On May 28, Mr. Karl Toriola, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, would be arraigned by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
In violation of the FCCPC Act, Toriola, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, and others will be charged for allegedly failing to provide the commission with the information and documents it requested in response to a valid summons. Justice H.J. Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja will arraign the firm and its CEO with Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, and Ikenna Ikeme, MTN’s General Manager, Regulatory Affairs.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, Toriola, Okigbo, and Ikeme were identified as the first, second, and fourth suspects, respectively, in the charge designated FHC/ABJ/CR/354/2024 by the FCCPC.

BrandSpur telecoma and information news reports that a group of attorneys led by Akoji Achimugu preferred the suspects with two counts in the charge, which was dated July 19, 2024, and filed July 22, 2024. They weren’t in court when the matter was called. Justice Yilwa questioned Chizenum Nsitem, an FCCP attorney, about the suspects’ location. Nsitem told the court that even though the arraignment of the defendants was the scheduled event, he had only been briefed on the case and would require additional time to review the case file. For arraignment, the judge postponed the case until May 28.

According to NAN, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) had previously charged MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd., its CEO Toriola, MTN Senior Executive Officer Nkeakam Abhulimen, telecommunications service provider Fun Mobile Ltd., and its CEO Yahaya Maibe. On March 20, 2024, the NCC filed the three-count accusation, which is currently before sister court Justice Inyang Ekwo and is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024.

Also read: https://brandspurng.com/2025/03/07/shettima-other-prominent-nigerians-attend-first-banks-40-storey-headquarter-launch-in-lagos/

Between 2010 and 2017, the defendants were accused by the prosecution of: “Offered for sale, sold and traded for business, infringed musical works of Maleke Moye, an artiste, without his consent and authorisation.”

Continuing, the commission said that the defendants have utilized Maleke’s sound recordings and musical compositions, known as “caller ring back tunes,” which are protected by copyright, without the artist’s consent. Among the musician’s allegedly infringed musical compositions and sound recordings are “911, Minimini-Wana Wana, Stop Racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low Waist, and No Bother.”

In violation of the artist’s rights, they were also accused of unlawfully and without permission distributing the musical compositions to their subscribers. The third count claimed that the suspects possessed the artist’s sound recordings and musical compositions in their hands unless they were being used for domestic or personal purposes. Section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, are the penalties for the claimed offence, according to the copyright commission.

On February 25, Justice Ekwo postponed the case till May 15 for reporting after the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) expressed interest in taking over.