A fatal road accident which occurred on Tuesday at Irepeni on Okene- Lokoja–Abuja highway in Kogi State has claimed the lives of 17 people.
The accident involved two vehicles, a luxury bus and a Toyota Hiace.
The Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Kogi State Command, Solomon Aghure, confirmed the incident to journalists in Lokoja, the State Capital.
According to him, the accident occurred at about 5 a.m. when the vehicles, that were both conveying a total of 55 passengers to different destinations, collided.
He added that 15 passengers died on the spot while two others died in the hospital.
“The Toyota Hiace was going to Auchi , Edo State and the luxury bus was coming from Okene axis. The luxury bus overtook a car and in the process lost control. Of course it was night, so it came and hit the smaller Toyota bus, pushing it into the bush. The vehicle somersaulted, and 15 people died on the spot and two later died in the hospital,” Aghure explained.
He explained that 25 other passengers who sustained varying degrees of injuries were taken to a private hospital for treatment.
The Sector Commander said the corpses of the 17 were deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, adding that further investigation into the accident had commenced and urged motorists to avoid night travelling and speeding while driving.
“It is very important for motorists to obey the speed limit which is 90kph for commercial vehicles and 100kph for private vehicles,” he stated.
Aghure stated that, in order to reduce stress and road accident during the festive period, 522 personnel had been deployed to different routes in the state, adding that additional personnel were also being expected from Ekiti and Kwara states to complement those on ground and advised motorists to always obey traffic rules.
