Three people have lost their lives, while three others sustained varying degrees of injuries following a tragic road accident involving a crane and a truck along the Sagamu-Benin Expressway in Ogun State.

The fatal crash occurred at about 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday near Babcock Junction in Ikenne Local Government Area.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, said the accident involved a white Mercedes-Benz truck with registration number LG 59 BLF and a yellow crane without a registration number.

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According to Akinbiyi, preliminary investigations showed that the crane was travelling against traffic at excessive speed when it collided head-on with the oncoming truck.

He disclosed that six people—three males and three females—were involved in the crash.

“A total of three persons, comprising two males and one female, lost their lives, while three male victims sustained varying degrees of injuries,” Akinbiyi said.

He added that emergency responders from TRACE, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Nigeria Police Force, and a rescue team known as “Papa Oscar” swiftly arrived at the scene to rescue victims and manage the situation.

The injured victims were taken to the Babcock University Teaching Hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were deposited at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) morgue in Sagamu.

To ease traffic flow, authorities diverted vehicles from Delabo Junction to the second carriageway as efforts continued to evacuate the damaged vehicles from the highway.

Akinbiyi commiserated with the families of the deceased and cautioned motorists against dangerous traffic violations.

“Motorists should avoid route violation and driving against traffic, considering the grave consequences associated with such dangerous acts,” he said.

A businessman, Gbenga Collins, has told the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) that he paid ₦400 million to the council’s embattled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, to facilitate the award of a government contract.

Collins made the allegation on Wednesday while testifying before the committee probing the establishment and operations of the controversial council.

According to the businessman, he travelled to Abuja where he was officially received by Adeyemi in what he described as an atmosphere befitting the head of a government agency, a development that convinced him the council was legitimate.

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He told lawmakers that Adeyemi later handed him a contract award letter, the scope of work, and an agreement authorising his company to execute the renovation and furnishing of the Director-General’s official residence.

“He gave me a contract award letter, the scope of work and, at the same time, the agreement with my company to execute that refurbishment project and asked me to pay the sum of ₦400 million for the facilitation of that project to show my strength that I would be able to handle it and that it would also fast-track the mobilisation for the contract,” Collins told the committee.

Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Yusuf Gagdi, disclosed that Adeyemi’s continued absence from the hearings was because he is currently in police custody and is also being investigated by anti-graft agencies.

Gagdi further revealed that the committee intends to meet with Adeyemi discreetly as part of its ongoing investigation.

As part of the probe, the committee also summoned the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over the alleged use of official Federal Government number plates on vehicles linked to the disputed council.

The House panel is investigating allegations that the PFIPC operated without lawful authority despite being captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act.

The probe followed allegations by Adeyemi that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, demanded 48 per cent of the council’s proposed ₦27.3 billion take-off grant. Adeyemi also alleged that the Chief of Staff received ₦400 million through a proxy and later requested an additional ₦200 million to facilitate presidential approvals.

Gbajabiamila has denied all the allegations, maintaining that he has no personal, official or professional relationship with Adeyemi.

He also rejected claims that he demanded or received money, interfered with investigations, or had any connection to allegations surrounding the death of Babatunde Tanimola or an alleged assassination attempt on Adeyemi.

Following the allegations, President Bola Tinubu directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

The House of Representatives subsequently constituted a 12-member ad hoc committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the PFIPC, how it was included in the 2026 Appropriation Act, and the alleged allocation of about ₦1.3 billion to the council.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, had earlier informed the committee that none of the funds appropriated for the PFIPC had been released or spent because the statutory conditions required for their disbursement and utilisation were never met.

As crude oil futures fell in response to the US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend another planned military strike on Iran, he has insisted that oil companies should lower prices pronto.

Trump issued the directive on Monday, according to a post on his Truth Social platform, that oil producers reduce selling prices. “Get your consumer (retail) oil prices DOWN, NOW!” Trump wrote.

According to Oilprice.com, crude prices dropped to $83.62 on Monday. They had earlier jumped to $100 at the height of the renewed crisis between Iran and the United States.

On Monday, Trump called out Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth after the executive appeared on television discussing the company’s business.

He accused Wirth of failing to acknowledge the administration’s role in restoring Chevron’s position in Venezuela.

“They threw Mike and Chevron out of Venezuela, but now they’re back, far bigger and stronger than ever before, expecting to make a fortune,” Trump pointed out.

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Oilprice.com reported that Chevron resumed operations in Venezuela after the Trump administration reopened access to the country’s oil sector and placed exports under US control.

American refiners have since become some of the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude, restoring a market that had largely disappeared under previous sanctions.

In the United States, the national average price of regular petrol reportedly stood at about $3.29 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA, down only modestly from last week’s highs despite crude prices falling by more than six per cent in a single session.

Retail petrol prices typically lag movements in oil markets because filling stations continue to sell inventories purchased at earlier wholesale prices.

Trump’s latest demand followed two earlier interventions on petrol prices. In June, he called on the Justice Department to investigate petrol prices after crude oil retreated from earlier highs.

Days later, he urged fuel retailers to lower pump prices towards $2.50 per gallon, warning companies that failed to respond would face “big problems”.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell by more than six per cent on Monday, while Brent crude lost more than five per cent after Trump announced a new round of negotiations with Iran and cancelled what he described as a planned “massive” military strike.

Retail petrol prices generally adjust more slowly because refiners, wholesalers and retailers continue selling fuel purchased when crude prices were higher.

Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum all reported sharply higher second-quarter profits last week as the Iran conflict lifted crude prices and refining margins.

Trump’s latest demand comes as those higher earnings coincide with falling oil prices, with his administration pushing the industry to pass lower crude costs on to consumers.

In Nigeria, petrol prices range between N1,250 and N1,300 per litre, depending on the location. They stood at about N830 per litre before the US-Iran crisis began on February 28.