Yobe: Tears as Truck Rams Into Crowd, Kills Several People, Injured Count Disclosed
- At least three people have been killed after a truck crash in Yobe State
- High speed and overloading were cited as causes of the tragic accident
- Emergency teams responded to rescue the injured victims
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Potiskum, Yobe State - Three people have been confirmed dead, while about 40 others sustained injuries after a canter truck rammed into people sitting by the roadside along the Gombe–Potiskum road in Yobe State, north-east Nigeria.
Legit.ng reports that the sad occurrence threw several families into mourning.
Source: Twitter
Yobe: Truck kills people, injures 40
As reported by The Punch, the accident occurred at about 2:30 pm on Wednesday, January 21, near Badejo town of Potiskum Local Government Area (LGA), a busy stretch of the expressway.
Eyewitnesses disclosed that the truck appeared to be moving at high speed before it lost control and struck those sitting along the roadside.
The state sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Paul Andrew, confirmed the incident.
Andrew said:
“The crash occurred at about 2:30 pm near Badejo town along the Gombe–Potiskum expressway. It involved a canter vehicle that rammed into people sitting by the roadside, causing multiple casualties.”
He added that preliminary investigations pointed to overloading and speeding as the main factors.
He said:
“From our findings so far, the crash was caused by overloading and overspeeding. The driver lost control while negotiating the busy section of the road, and unfortunately, this led to the deaths and injuries.”
Andrew explained that the vehicle was heading towards the Potiskum cattle market on a busy market day.
He added:
“The canter was coming to the Potiskum cattle market because it was market day, and there was heavy movement of people and vehicles along the route. Such busy conditions demand extreme caution, yet overloading and speeding remain major problems.”
The FRSC official also highlighted the response of the corps and emergency teams.
He said:
“The injured were quickly rescued and taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, while the deceased were evacuated by our operatives."
Source: Twitter
Yobe crash highlights Nigeria's roads' risks
The crash in Yobe on Wednesday, January 21, has cast a renewed spotlight on Nigeria’s perilous road network, where accidents are a common occurrence.
Data from the country's FRSC reveals a grim picture, with 5,421 deaths recorded in 9,570 road accidents in 2024 alone, an increase of 340 fatalities compared to the previous year.
Experts point to a confluence of factors, including dilapidated infrastructure, lax enforcement of traffic laws, and driver indiscipline, as contributors to these statistics.
A significant hazard on Nigerian thoroughfares is the prevalence of stationary trucks, often in poor condition, which frequently cause massive gridlocks and are implicated in numerous accidents.
Read more on road accidents in Nigeria:
- Tragedy as bus, truck collision kills 11 on Benin–Agbor road
- Driver falls asleep at wheel, rams Lexus into vehicle on Third Mainland Bridge
Family members killed in Lagos crash
Legit.ng earlier reported that a speeding truck triggered a multi-vehicle collision that killed three members of the same family on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) rescued two injured survivors and coordinated with emergency agencies to clear the wreckage and stabilise the scene.
Source: Legit.ng
