A fatal road clash on Sunday, April 28, 2024, claimed no fewer than 19 lives at Okene by-pass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State.
The accident involving a Dangote heavy duty truck coming all the way from Port Harcourt, and a Toyota bus with passengers from Kano, had a head-on collision that resulted in a fire in which the victims were burnt to death.
Confirming the incident, the Federal Road Safety Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal
Jonas Agwu, disclosed that the FRSC’s emergency rescue teams deployed to rescue the victims could not achieve desired results as the efforts they put into the rescue operations were hindered by the fire that engulfed the two vehicles.
According to the report, the crash which was caused by route violation, usually described as ‘One Way,’ and wrongful overtaking, involved 22 people, all male.
“Unfortunately, 19 people out of the 22 victims were killed and one injured,” Agwu said. “The remaining two victims who got rescued by FRSC operatives without injuries survived the crash because they complied with traffic regulations on compulsory use of seatbelt.”
The Public Education Officer recalled that only four days ago, the Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, had admonished road users against recklessness and traffic violations, citing instances where such offences resulted in avoidable crashes with fire outbreaks that consumed lives and properties.
“The Corps Marshal Dauda reaffirmed the resolution of the FRSC to continue its ongoing prosecution of drivers who by their actions cause road traffic crashes in Nigeria, noting that the driver of the truck involved in the Okene crash will not be an exception, “ Agwu stated
The corpses of the 19 victims that died in the Sunday crash and fire have been deposited at Okene General Hospital