No fewer than 11 persons lost their lives while 16 others were injured, with one person rescued unhurt in an auto crash at Gaya junction along the Kano–Maiduguri road.
The Kano State FRSC Sector Commander, Ibrahim Sallau-Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued by the Command’s spokesperson, Abdullahi Labaran, on Saturday in Kano.
He said that the accident involved two vehicles, a Toyota hummer bus, with registration number KTG 190 XB and a Hijet mini pick-up, with registration number KTG 501 YG.
“We received a call about 03:45 p.m. on April 19, 2024. On receiving the information, we quickly dispatched our personnel and vehicle to the scene of the incident to rescue the victims at 03:55p.m.,” Abdullahi said.
The sector commander said that the accident occurred as a result of speeding and loss of control, which led to a head-on collision as two vehicles burst into flames immediately.
“The accident involved a total of 28 passengers in the two vehicles, out of which 11 lost their lives while 16 others sustained serious injuries and one rescued unhurt.
“The injured were taken to Gaya General Hospital for urgent medical treatment, while the corpses were respectfully laid to rest in a mass burial ceremony”, Abdullahi said.
The sector commander, who lamented the occurrence of the incident, emphasised the importance of compliance with road safety rules and regulations.
He urged drivers to refrain from committing traffic offences such as speed violations and overloading of vehicles with passengers, animals or goods.
Abdullahi also advised commercial drivers to install speed limit devices on their vehicles to avoid crashes resulting from speed limit violations.
He said that the command was committed to ensuring the safety of road users,vowing,” we will intensify efforts to enforce traffic regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.”
In Ogun State, two persons died while three others were injured in an auto crash on the Ijebu Ode-Ore Road on Friday.
On Saturday, two persons died while five others were injured in another auto crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogun, Mrs Florence Okpe, stated in Abeokuta on Saturday that one of the corpses of Friday’s accident was handed over to its family.
The second corpse was deposited at the morgue of a hospital in Ijebu-Ode to where the injured were taken, she stated.
She added that Saturday’s crash on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was a lone accident caused by excessive over-speeding by the driver of the Toyota car which summersaulted.
“The accident claimed the lives of a woman and a female child.
“Seven persons were involved in the lone crash in which five persons sustained injuries,’’ Okpe stated.
The injured victims were taken to a hospital in Sagamu while the deceased were deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.
