Sixteen people were killed and four others injured in a road accident that occurred in Makarfi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday.
The accident which occurred around 11:20 am at Tashar Yari area involved a bus that left Kano en route to Markudi in Benue State.
A statement by the Kaduna State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kabir Nadabo, attributed the accident to overspeeding that led to the driver losing control of the steering and ramming into a ditch.
He said that an initial investigation of the crash revealed that 20 people were involved, with 16 dead. Four others were injured and were rushed to Makarfi General Hospital for medical attention.
“There was a tragic road traffic crash involving a Toyota Bus with registration number TRB 674ZG 35XB travelling from Kano State to Makurdi which occurred at Taban Sani Junction, Tashar Yari along Zaria-Kano expressway, on 21st January 2024 at 11:20hrs.
“The accident was a lone one caused by overspeeding where the driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a ditch.
“An initial investigation of the crash revealed that 20 people were involved, 4 were injured, and sadly, 16 people lost their lives. The injured were conveyed to Makarfi General Hospital for immediate treatment. At the same time, the deceased were deposited at ABU Teaching Hospital, Shika in Zaria along with the passenger Manifest to help in identifying the lost ones as well as reaching out to their families respectively.
“As the lead agency in transport management and road safety, the Federal Road Safety Corps is saddened by this unfortunate but avoidable incident.
“The corps in Kaduna state will continue to perform its statutory duty of saving lives and properties and most fundamentally, creating awareness of the dangers of road safety vices and unethical road culture.
“Kaduna State is a critical corridor, therefore the State Command has established instruments of safety that will guide transporters on the importance of safe travels at all times.
“I want to call on stakeholders, particularly the transport unions to help us reach out and advocate the safety language to their drivers. In the same vein, the corps is liaising with media outlets better to inform the public on the dangers of dangerous driving, overloading, driving with worn-out tyres, fatigues, caused by long journeys, etc.”
The sector commander added that as a proactive measure embarked upon by the Corps, FRSC in Kaduna State in collaboration with transport unions has made it a point of focus to sensitise passengers on the need to always observe and caution drivers on excess speeding, wrongful overtaking and overloading.
