What began as an ordinary Wednesday morning on the Abuja-Lokoja highway quickly descended into tragedy, as two separate crashes within three hours claimed seven lives, including four passengers who were trapped and burnt beyond recognition after two buses collided and burst into flames.
The first accident occurred at about 5:48 a.m. and involved a J5 Peugeot bus with registration number JJN 605 ZY and another Peugeot bus without a registration number.
A witness, Markus Nathaniel, said one of the buses, heavily loaded with bananas, pineapples and oranges, was travelling from the Lokoja axis when its driver allegedly attempted a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre at high speed, resulting in a head-on collision with an oncoming bus.
The impact triggered a fire that engulfed one of the vehicles, trapping all four occupants, including the driver, who were burnt beyond recognition before rescuers could reach them.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) recovered the charred remains and deposited them at the Kwali General Hospital morgue.
An FRSC official, who participated in the rescue operation but requested anonymity, confirmed the incident, attributing the crash to wrongful overtaking and excessive speeding.
Barely three hours later, tragedy struck again on the same highway.
At about 8:15 a.m., three more people were killed in another head-on collision near Government Secondary School (GSS), Yangoji, involving a Toyota Highlander SUV and a Howo trailer.
According to the FRSC official, the Highlander, travelling from the Lokoja end, allegedly attempted to overtake another vehicle before crashing into the oncoming trailer.
Three male occupants of the SUV died instantly, while two others sustained injuries and were rushed to Kwali General Hospital for treatment. The bodies of the deceased were also deposited in the hospital’s morgue.
The official blamed the second crash on speeding and traffic violations, adding that the damaged Highlander was towed to the Kwali Police Station, while the trailer was moved to the Yangoji FRSC Unit Command.
The FCT Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Iliyasu Tijjani, confirmed both fatal accidents but declined to provide further details.
The twin tragedies have renewed concerns over persistent speeding and dangerous overtaking on the busy Abuja-Lokoja highway, one of Nigeria’s deadliest road corridors.
