Twenty-two people have died and 20 others were severely injured in a lone fatal crash involving a trailer on the Lambata-Lapai road in Niger State on Monday.
Aishat Sa’adu, Sector Commander of the Niger State Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who confirmed the incident to our correspondent, said 42 people were in the vehicle along with livestock when it crashed around 3am, killing 22 people on the spot.
She said the trailer had taken off from Kano and was en route to Lagos when it crashed, 10km from Lambata and 30km to Lapai town, the headquarters of Lapai Local Government Area in Niger State.
The sector commander said the dead bodies were taken to the Suleja General Hospital mortuary, while the 20 survivors were transported to the Federal Medical Centre Lambata for treatment.
“I was part of the rescue operation from the beginning because they called the emergency response team at our headquarters. So, I was directly involved. The accident was fatal.
“In the crash, 42 people were involved, all male. At the scene, 22 died and 20 were injured. In our follow-up today, 16 of the survivors were taken from the Federal Medical Centre Lambata by their relatives for further medical attention.
“It was a lone crash caused by overspeeding. We have always warned against mixed loading, that is, transporting humans, animals and goods together in one vehicle.
“We have consistently campaigned against this practice, yet people continue to do it. We have carried out extensive sensitisation and public enlightenment.
We even held a town hall meeting with stakeholders on road safety, where we addressed this issue and educated the public.
“But many people still prefer to travel at night. This particular crash occurred around 3am on Monday,” she said.
