A tragedy struck on Sunday along the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State after 19 people were burned to death in a car crash.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) reported that a Dangote truck with registration NSH680YJ and a Toyota Hiace bus with registration KMC455ZE were involved in the accident.
The FRSC stated that the crash occurred due to a route violation by the truck, leading to a head-on collision and subsequent fire.
Out of the 22 male passengers in the vehicles, only three were rescued.
“The TYT bus loaded from Kano was in its lane on the highway when the Dangote Truck driver, who drove all the way from Port Harcourt, wrongfully overtook a vehicle and collided head-on with the bus. The impact of the collision resulted in an inferno that burned the victims to death,” the statement reads.
“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and 1 injured. The remaining 2 victims, who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries, survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on the compulsory use of seatbelts.
“The corpses of the dead victims whose lives were claimed by the crash have been deposited at Okene General Hospital.”
Dauda Biu, the FRSC corps marshal, stated that the agency will keep prosecuting drivers who cause road traffic crashes in Nigeria through their actions.
Biu also urged the judiciary, transport unions’ leadership, and other stakeholders in the road transportation sector to collaborate with the corps for prompt and efficient prosecution of offenders.
