Two people have died and three others are injured after a crash near the permanent site of Ebonyi State University along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway on Saturday.
The accident involved a commercial bus carrying passengers from Otukpo, Benue State, and a Mercedes Benz 911 truck transporting sachet water from Enugu to Abakaliki.
Eyewitnesses said one lane of the highway had been blocked by security personnel at the Ishieke Police Station, forcing drivers to navigate a narrow section of the road.
Ebonyi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Anthony Ogbodo, confirmed the incident in a phone interview. He said dangerous driving, worsened by the roadblock, led to the crash.
“At night, the police at that junction blocked one of the lanes. Closing one lane of the road contributed to the accident,” Ogbodo said. “Ten passengers were involved — eight males and two females. Three were injured and two died, a male and a female.”
Ogbodo added that the injured passengers have been taken to the hospital for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital morgue in Abakaliki.
Efforts to get a response from the police on the roadblock were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
