By GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE & Akpokona Omafuaire
BENIN—NO fewer than five persons, on Saturday, lost their lives in a multiple road accident, near Okpella, on the Benin-Auchi- Okene highway in Edo State.

Similarly, three persons were killed in separate incidents in Warri, Delta State, among them, the owner of a popular drinking joint near Sedco Junction in Udu area, who was killed by suspected  cultists.

On the Benin-Auchi- Okene highway auto crash, it was gathered that the accident, involving four vehicles, occurred in the early hours of Saturday, as motorists from the Abuja and Benin end of the highway were left stranded for several hours due to gridlock caused by the accident.

Those who lost their lives in the accident included an apprentice, the driver and owner of goods in one of the articulated vehicles and two others.

Head of operation of the Auchi Unit of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Abosi Ikechulwu, who confirmed the accident, said an articulated vehicle belonging to Dangote Group, lost control and rammed into another stationary articulated vehicle.

The other articulated vehicle which belongs to Danyok Nigeria Limited, was said to have tumbled as a resulted of the previous night’s down pour.

A J-5 bus and two other lorries loaded with cattle and goats were said to have collided and crashed into the Dangote and the Danyok articulated vehicles.

In the Warri cultists attack, it was gathered that the cultists, allegedly laid siege to Ovwian community for over one month resulting in daily cult killings.

A 27-year old man, identified as Lucky Esekem, was, meanwhile, crushed to death by a truck at the Udu Expressway Junction by Ovwian, while another unidentified youth was shot on Gbiaye Street by suspected gunmen.

Esekem, a vulcaniser, was killed while riding on his motorbike to his house at Ujevwu as a result of alleged brake failure from the speeding truck.

The death of the youth, who hailed from Olomoro, in Isoko South Local Government Area, caused serious traffic jam on the busy DSC Expressway as Ovwian vigilante groups battled to clear the road.