An unspecified number of people have been killed after tankers laden with petroleum products burst into flames on a section of the east-west road in Eleme, Rivers state.

The incident, which left travellers stranded for hours, occurred on Friday night.

Some of the victims of the multiple explosions were said to have been trapped in their vehicles as the blasts raged.

The cause of the explosions are not clear at the time of reporting. However, eyewitnesses have pointed to “dangerous driving and negligence”.

The Nation quoted Segun Owolabi, an eyewitness, as saying that one tanker collided with a vehicle before bursting into flames, leading to a domino effect.

“I saw four dead bodies burnt. Some may have been in the bushes because many ran away. I saw a whole stretch of vehicles burnt down, trailers burnt down,” Owolabi said.

“There seems to be a truck carrying substances and it was as if it had collided with another vehicle that may have ignited the fire. Over 20 vehicles burnt down and several people trapped.

“There may be more bodies. Oh my God this is a tragedy. A stretch of vehicles burnt.”

Another eyewitness said he heard a loud explosion from a petrochemical complex in the area.

“I heard a very loud sound about 20 minutes ago, and people were shouting,” he said.

“The sound came from the petrochemical company area. So when I came out I saw thick smoke with fire from a distance.”

The inferno reportedly raged for hours before it was put out by firefighters.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says 34 suspected currency speculators have been arrested for foreign exchange (FX) fraud.

The EFCC, in a statement on Friday, said the arrest was carried out by its operatives attached to its task force on currency mutilation, dollarisation of the economy, and FX malpractice.

The anti-graft agency said the suspects were arrested in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, on April 26, in a sting operation following credible intelligence about illegal sales of dollars.

“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, attached to the Taskforce on Currency mutilation, Dollarization of the Economy and Forex Malpractice, have arrested 34 suspected currency speculators for alleged foreign exchange fraud,” the EFCC said.

“The suspects are: Usman Mohammed, Abdullahi Nasir, Abubakar Saleh, Mohammed Kabir Ibrahim, Abubakar Ghadafi, Muktar Usman, Umar Abubakar Abba, Yakubu Sani, Aminu Abubakar, Muhammed Suleman Abara, Yusuf Tahir, Usman Lawal, Usman Lawal.”

The agency also arrested Usman Umar, Amina Garba Rola, Muhammed Aliyu, Murtala Haruna, Sani Mohammed, Umar Farouk, Muhammed Sagiuru, Aminu Salisu, Lawal Bello, and Munzali Hashim.

Other include: Jamilu Suleiman, Mustapha Umar, Mubarak Tanimu, Adamu Garba, Mohammed Usman, Bello Musa, Saleh Mohammed Naseer, Zaharadeen Yau, Musa Umaru Adamu, Usman Machido, and Abdulaziz Abubakar Abba.

The EFCC said the arrest occurred following its ongoing efforts to clean up and stabilise the FX market, adding that the suspects will soon be arraigned in court upon conclusion of investigations.

On February 24, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the office of the national security adviser (ONSA) sealed a partnership to investigate and penalise those involved in illicit activities within the foreign exchange market.

The decision was on the backdrop of the unending depreciation of the naira and its accompanying negative impact on inflation and economic instability.

Following the partnership, which also involved the EFCC, the commission froze over 300 accounts linked to illicit FX trading.

The EFCC had, on January 24, launched a probe on 52 companies over forex transactions.

A United Kingdom-based Nigerian man, Olubunmi Abodunde, has beaten his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, Daily Mail reports.

The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and always clashed over alleged affairs and arguments about bills.

According to the news platform, 48-year-old Abodunde had been repeatedly investigated by Suffolk Police about domestic violence and was due to go on trial for murder but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after a jury had been sworn in.

During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of bangs’ inside the house, which Abodunde had gone into, despite bail conditions imposed the day before that banned him from the property following another violent episode.

When they finally entered 25 minutes later, they found the wife, 41-year-old Taiwo, with her ‘skull smashed in’.

However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, warned him the only possible sentence was life imprisonment.

Suffolk Constabulary has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed three officers were under investigation.

An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.

“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”

Abodunde had a history of jealousy and suspicion and accused his wife of having affairs. He had been investigated by police a number of times over alleged domestic violence incidents before his wife’s death.

He was arrested on April 27 last year when police arrived at the couple’s home in Newmarket, Suffolk, and found Mrs Abodunde with a split lip.

Later that day, he was freed on police bail with the condition that he stayed away from the marital home and didn’t approach his wife.

But after working a night shift at Tesco, he went home just after 9 am to allegedly pick up his mobile phone.

Two officers arrived at 9.20 am to take a statement from Mrs Abodunde about the previous night’s incident and heard repeated banging noises inside.

But it wasn’t until 9.55 am that they forced their way in after getting approval from senior officers and found Mrs Abodunde ‘obviously dead’ near the front door.

A post-mortem examination later showed she had been throttled until she fell unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were broken before her husband used the skateboard to finish her off. The blows were so violent that the skateboard was damaged.

Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court the banging officers heard was likely to have been Abodunde continuing to attack his wife after she was unconscious or dead.

Mrs Abodunde had a job as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, who had trained as a civil engineer, was unable to find work in his profession and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.

After his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode”.

He later claimed in a police statement he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.

“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife, I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”

But the court heard while he did have an injury to his hand, there wasn’t a knife near his wife’s body.

Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the level of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and might have been affected by medication he was taking. But she said no medical evidence would be provided to support this claim.

Detective Inspector Dan Connick, of Suffolk Police, said after the hearing, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a lasting impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.

‘We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.

‘Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends and hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.’

Taiwo Abodunde worked for Cambridge Manor Care Home, which provides dementia care and residential and respite care.

A spokesman for the facility, which is owned by TLC Care, said: ‘We are all deeply shaken and upset by the tragic death of Taiwo, who was a much-loved member of our home community.

‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with her family. Taiwo always cared for those we support with compassion and kindness, and she will be greatly missed by all of us and our residents.’

Abodunde was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 9.