A heavy duty vehicle conveying livestock was involved in an accident along the Jalingo-Wukari Expressway in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Saturday night, killing two passengers and over 50 livestock on the spot.
The car had left Ganye in Adamawa State and was on its way to Lokpanta Cattle Market in Abia State when the terrible tragedy occurred in Taraba State.
The accident occurred about 11 p.m. on Saturday when the driver lost control of the car owing to suspected steering lock while driving at high speeds, collided with a road barrier, and skidded off to the other side of the road.
Two of the vehicle’s passengers died on the spot, and more than 50 livestock, goats, and sheep were discovered dead as a result of the accident.
The driver of the truck, Mohammed Ahmed, recounted the sad accident, saying, “We left Ganye in Adamawa State without incident.” Shortly after we passed the flyover, I realised that the steering had locked. I tried everything I could to modify it, but to no avail. I was not sleeping, as some have speculated.”
Yakubu Mohammed, a passenger who fled unharmed, confirmed the deaths of two people and expressed sadness for several villagers who, despite their tragedy, attempted to collect their livestock that were still alive.
He said that traders who had stocks in the van had lost millions of naira as a result of the tragedy and urged the Taraba State Government to intervene.
Meanwhile, the state butchers’ union expressed its unhappiness with the acts of some butchers who stole from the accident scene.
Masaudu Ibrahim, Secretary of the Taraba Association of Butchers, stated that the association would punish any butcher who sold animals that had not been slaughtered and would ensure that dead animals removed from the scene did not make it to the market.
As at the time of reporting this story, security personnel were spotted arriving at the scene of the accident after the victims’ corpses had been evacuated.