By Tom Garba, Yola
A military truck rammed into a pick-up van on a bridge in Ngurore Village, Adamawa State, on Thursday, killing the driver and four passengers.
Freedom Online learned that the deceased were on their way to observe Sallah celebrations when the incident happened.
Curiously, passersby, who attempted to rescue the victims, were prevented by soldiers.
This was confirmed by the father of one of the deceased, Yusuf Danbala.
Danbala said: “When I was told about the accident, I rushed to the scene but armed soldiers threatened to shoot me if I did not go away. They prevented rescue. I don’t know why they behaved that way. The victims were dying gradually due to loss of blood and they prevented us from helping them. They eventually died. I want the military authority to investigate what really happened and punish these officers. Justice must be done in this matter”.
An eye witness said the accident may have happened due to overzealousness on the parts of the drivers of the military truck and the pick-up van.
“We just heard the sound ‘gboa’. When we rushed to the place, the military truck had hit the van and those people were trapped inside. We couldn’t rescue them because we were prevented from doing that. They barricaded the bridge and stopped us from taking the injured for two hours until they died. They finally left, chanting songs.
“After their exit, we had to cut the vehicle to remove mutilated bodies of the victims. They have since been buried according to Islamic rites,” he said.
The Assistant Director of Army Public Relations in the 23rd Army Brigade, Yola, Captain Nuhu Jafaru, could not be reached on phone.
