The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said that no fewer than 21 people were killed in road traffic crashes along Ibadan-Lagos route and Mokwa town in Niger.
The FRSC Acting Corps Marshal, Mr Dauda Biu, confirmed this in a statement by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal, Mr Bisi Kazeem, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The corps marshal attributed the crash that occurred at 06:30hrs along Ibadan-Lagos route, a few minutes before the Guru Maharaji area, Oyo State, to wanton violation of speed limit and indulgence in dangerous driving.
He said the Mokwa fatal crash occurred at 3.30 a.m while a lone crash also occurred in Otukpo around 11.35 a.m on Tuesday.
“According to preliminary investigation conducted into the fatal crashes, the Mokwa crash involved a trailer transiting from Lagos, which had a head on collision with a bus and the Otukpo lone crash involving a bus registered as NAK 77 XA, occurred as a result of a fallen tree that blocked the highway.
“18 people, all male adults, are involved in the Ibadan crash, out of which 10 were killed, six injured and the rest rescued without injuries,” he said.
Biu said that zero fatality was recorded in the Otukpo lone crash; but the injured victims have been taken to St. Daniels Hospital, Otukpo for urgent treatment.
The acting corps marshall added that the remains of the dead victims had been deposited in Adeoyo General Hospital Morgue in Ibadan.
The Niger State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Kumar Tsukwam said nine people died on the spot while two others died at Mokwa General Hospital, adding that 10 others who sustained serious injuries received medical attention at the same hospital while the 11 corpses were deposited at the mortuary in the Federal Medical Centre, Bida.
In a related development, one person was said to have died, while 12 others sustained varying degrees of injuries when the bus they were traveling crashed into a petrol tanker at Otedola Bridge, on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Tuesday evening.
General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Bolaji Oreagba, who confirmed the incident said 12 passengers onboard the ill-fated vehicle were rescued.
From Abubakar Akote, Minna & Eugene Agha, Lagos
