At least 19 people have lost their lives, while several others sustained injuries in two separate fatal road accidents in Edo and Taraba States.
In Edo State, 12 persons died and 14 others were injured in a crash that occurred over the weekend at Egono community along the Auchi–Ewu–Benin highway. The accident reportedly happened when a speeding truck carrying both passengers and goods attempted a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre, lost control, and overturned.
The spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Edo, Patricia Onwochei, confirmed the incident. She attributed the crash to wrongful overtaking. According to her, one victim had been buried, while 11 bodies were deposited at the St. Lazarus Hospital mortuary.
In a separate incident in Taraba State, seven people—including two women and two children—died in a crash that occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday in the Garbabi area of Gashaka Local Government Area.
The crash involved a commercial vehicle transporting 11 passengers from Bali to Serti, the headquarters of Gashaka LGA. An official of the Nigeria Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Bali branch, Haruna Lukman, said the vehicle collided head-on with an oncoming trailer while negotiating a sharp bend near Kabarin Baturi village along the Bali–Serti road.
He stated that all seven victims died on the spot, adding that NARTO officials, police officers, and local residents evacuated the bodies and injured victims to the Bali General Hospital.
Lukman also noted that the vehicle, designed to carry six passengers, was often overloaded with up to nine passengers due to rising fuel costs and alleged extortion by security operatives.
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