18 die in Abuja–Lokoja road crash

No fewer than 18 persons died in an accident on the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway at the weekend.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Nseobong Akpabio, said in a statement in Abuja that the accident, which involved a luxury bus, was caused by reckless driving on Saturday night.

The FRSC had has published a report in which it identified the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway as "dangerous" and warned motorists to be more cautious on the road.

Akpabio said: "Eighteen persons lost their lives about 10.40pm on Saturday.

"The Commander of the FRSC, Yangoji Unit, Abdullahi Umar, got a distress call regarding the accident at Anini village near Kwaita on the Gwagwalada–Lokoja Expressway.

"A rescue team, led by Umar, moved to the scene. The team also informed the police.

"From an unconfirmed report, one white 18-seater Toyota Hiace bus marked XP 269 BEN from Lokoja overtook other vehicles dangerously and collided head-on with a Luxury bus marked XV 952 APP from Kaduna.

"Seventeen persons died instantly, while two persons were injured.

"Two other persons from the luxury bus were also injured.

"The Toyota bus had 19 passengers on board while the Luxury bus had 50."

He added that one of the injured passengers from the Toyota bus later died in the hospital, bringing the number of casualties to 18.