The Niger State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps has attributed overspeeding and wrongful overtaking as the causes of a fatal crash that claimed 14 lives on Saturday along the Lapai-Bida Road.
The accident involved a Toyota Hiace bus, with registration number WWD744XB, traveling from Minna to Agaei, and a Mack tanker, with registration number SEY169ZY, heading to Kaduna from Lagos.
According to the PUNCH, it was reported that the vehicles carried a total of 20 passengers, including six females, one male child, and 13 male adults.
Out of these, 14 people were women, one child, and eight men lost their lives, while six men sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to the Lapai General Hospital, where the corpses were also deposited.
The Niger State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Kumar Tsukwam, confirmed the incident, stressing that reckless driving was to blame.
“The crash was caused by the Toyota Hiace bus coming from Minna to Agaei, which was on excess speed and engaged in wrongful overtaking. Suddenly, it had a head-on collision with the tanker,” Tsukwam stated.
FRSC personnel at the accident scene recovered several items, including a Tecno phone and ₦7,050, believed to belong to a Fulani passenger. The items were handed over to the appropriate authorities.
Tsukwam urged motorists to adhere to speed limits and avoid dangerous overtaking, emphasizing the importance of safe driving.
“Life does not have any duplicates,” he warned.
