At least six persons have been confirmed dead, while others sustained injuries in a road crash along the Makurdi-Gboko Highway in Tarka Local Council of Benue State.

The accident, which occurred on Monday, involved a Toyota bus and a Sharon bus that collided head-on.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander in Benue State, KehindeDahunsi, attributed the accident to over-speeding.

Dahunsi said, “From available information from my unit commander, about six people died, and these six people comprised three males, two females and one male child, which makes six, and about twenty-three people were rescued.

“They are responding to treatment in the hospital now. The major cause of the road traffic crash is speeding.

The driver was over-speeding and he lost control, thereby running to the opposite, which led to a head-on collision with the coming vehicle. And our advice to all these drivers is to stop excessive speeding, stop speeding. They should adhere to the speed limit.”

The Security Secretary of Tarka Local Council, BemAgbuku, said the incident occurred after the Agudo area (Tugh-Tugh Sharp Bend) on the Makurdi-Gboko Road.

He lauded the Chairman of Tarka Local Council, Raphael Yenge, the FRSC and other security officials for their prompt response, which led to the rescue of those injured.

Agbuku disclosed that the corpses had been deposited in a mortuary, while the injured were receiving treatment at St Christopher Clinic in Wannune.

Meanwhile, six persons also died in an auto crash that occurred yesterday when a tanker truck rammed into multiple vehicles on the Ota axis of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Ogun State.

Three other persons sustained varying degrees of injuries in the accident.

Vehicles involved in the crash included a Mack tanker truck with registration number EKY 913YH; a yellow Suzuki mini bus with registration number SMK16YK; and a yellow TVS tricycle with registration number AAA 840QM.

The spokesperson of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident in a statement in Abeokuta on Tuesday.

Akinbiyi said nine persons (seven males and two females) were involved in the crash, of whom three (two males and one female) sustained injuries, while six persons (five males and one female) died.

He attributed the crash to reckless driving by the tanker truck driver, who rammed into several vehicles while travelling from Lagos inbound Ota.

The TRACE Public Relations Officer said operatives of the agency, the FRSC and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were on the ground for rescue operations.

He said the injured had been taken to the State Hospital, Ota, while the deceased were deposited at the State Morgue, Ifo.

Akinbiyi added that the affected vehicles had been cleared from the road and moved to the Papa Oscar cage, while traffic initially disrupted by the crash was managed for free flow.

Relatedly, a woman has been confirmed dead and several others injured following a multi-vehicle accident at Dutse in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The crash occurred at about 9:30 a.m. at the Tipper Garage Junction when a truck with registration number HF-51-TOH reportedly lost control while descending from Usman Dam Road due to brake failure.

The truck, reportedly transporting goods from the Niger Republic, including drinks, plastics, groundnut oil, and mosquito-repellent sealant, struck about four vehicles on the slope before crashing into two commercial tricycles (Keke NAPEP) and a saloon car at the junction.

According to reports, the two tricycles were carrying six passengers and a baby. The baby’s mother died at the scene, while a saloon car with four occupants was also hit. Two passengers sustained injuries, while others escaped unhurt.