Scores injured as billboard kills tricycle passenger in Aba

Tragedy struck in Aba, Abia State on Wednesday, as a large billboard collapsed during a downpour, killing a tricycle passenger and injuring several others along the Aba-Owerri Road.

The incident occurred near the popular GIA Event Centre, causing panic and heavy traffic congestion in the area. Multiple tricycles were damaged as their operators and passengers scrambled for safety.

Eyewitnesses said the billboard, believed to have been poorly constructed, gave way under the pressure of the rain and strong winds, crashing onto a fleet of parked tricycles that frequently gather at the location to pick up passengers.

No fewer than seven tricycles were reportedly trapped beneath the collapsed structure, as sympathizers rushed to the scene to assist in rescue efforts. Dozens of riders and passengers sustained injuries, some of them severe.

According to one witness, the deceased passenger nearly escaped but was fatally struck by a sharp iron blade from the collapsing billboard.

“The billboard suddenly came down during the rain. You know this is where many tricycle riders usually park. It happened so fast.

“One of the passengers almost got away but was hit by an iron component and died on the spot,” an eyewitness recounted.

Reacting to the incident, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Aba Unit, Professor Charles Chinekezi, condemned the unsafe placement and poor construction of billboards across the city.

He urged the Abia State government to take immediate steps to regulate the location and quality of billboards, warning against the continued negligence of safety standards in pursuit of revenue.

Authorities must stop allowing billboard owners to erect these structures with substandard materials. It’s unacceptable that lives are being lost because of regulatory failure,” Chinekezi stated.

He called for urgent inspection of existing billboards across Aba to prevent future tragedies and safeguard both lives and property.