Police officer, 5 others killed in Lagos, Yobe road crashes

Six people have died in road accidents that occurred in Yobe and Lagos states on Tuesday. In Yobe, four people were confirmed dead, while 16 others sustained injuries in a fatal road accident in Karasuwa Local Government Area. The crash occurred around 2.50pm on Tuesday at Zangon Kanwa village. It involved a Toyota Hiace bus […]

Six people have died in road accidents that occurred in Yobe and Lagos states on Tuesday.

In Yobe, four people were confirmed dead, while 16 others sustained injuries in a fatal road accident in Karasuwa Local Government Area.

The crash occurred around 2.50pm on Tuesday at Zangon Kanwa village.

It involved a Toyota Hiace bus conveying passengers from Jakusko to the Jajimaji market and a Volvo vehicle coming from Azare.

Eyewitnesses said the Toyota Hiace, driven by Ibrahim Makeri, first collided with a commercial tricycle (Keke Napep) before ramming into the Volvo. Three people, including Makeri and two passengers identified as Adamu Isiya and Alhaji Shuaibu, died instantly.

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Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Yobe State Police Command, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, said a fourth victim later succumbed to injuries at the hospital, raising the death toll to four.

In a similar incident, a police officer and a female passenger lost their lives in a fatal accident on Tuesday when a container-laden truck fell on a tricycle under the Ijora Bridge in Lagos.

Eyewitnesses said the accident occurred after the driver of a 40-foot articulated truck, with registration number XP 368 AKD, lost control while attempting a manoeuvre along Ijora Causeway, inward Ijora 7Up. The container toppled and crushed the tricycle, marked KJA 364 QN, which was carrying passengers.

The policeman, whose identity has not been disclosed, died instantly, while the female passenger was rushed to a hospital but later confirmed dead.

Two other victims, including the tricycle operator, were rescued alive but sustained severe leg fractures. Confirming the incident, the General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki,

described the tragedy as “deeply grievous and most regrettable.”

 

Road crashes claim 4.3m lives globally every year — FRSC

The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has revealed that an estimated 4.3 million people die annually in road crashes worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Road Safety Standards Report.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Kwada’as Road Safety Demand (KRSD) Foundation on the forthcoming International Road Crash Victims Africa Conference (IRCVAC), Mohammed said crashes have devastating effects on the environment, public health, and quality of life.

He noted that families of victims bear the heaviest burden, with women and children often left behind to face poverty, trauma, and dislocation.

Founder of KRSD, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, recounted that she established the foundation after her son, Kwada’as Rangna’am Samson Dongban, was killed by a hit-and-run driver 14 years ago.

She said WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 confirms that Nigeria has one of the highest road traffic death rates globally — 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people — far exceeding both global and African averages.

Citing National Bureau of Statistics data, she noted that in Q4 2023 alone, Nigeria recorded 5,081 crashes, which claimed 2,466 lives and injured 15,535.

She urged the establishment of trauma centres to support bereaved families and advocated for safer driving practices, including avoiding distractions such as phone use while driving.

The IRCVAC, themed “Gathering Africa and the World for Road Crash Victims,” is the first African forum dedicated to crash victims and their families. According to Mensem, it will bring together governments, civil society, and international experts to push for stronger road safety strategies across the continent.

From Habibu Idris Gimba (Damaturu), Eugene Agha (Lagos) & Maureen Onochie (Abuja)