No fewer than 20 people have been confirmed dead in road traffic crashes along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Mokwa town in Niger State.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Acting Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, disclosed this via a statement issued on Tuesday by the Corps Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal, Bisi Kazeem.

Biu, who decried the incessant violation of legal speed limits and noticeable traces of dangerous driving behaviours exhibited by drivers during the Christmas celebration, warned perpetrators of such bad road use culture to desist henceforth, noting that the Corps would not spare them when apprehended.

The corps marshal attributed the crash that occurred at about 6 a.m. along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, a few minutes before Gurumaraji area, Oyo State, to wanton violation of speed limit and indulgence in dangerous driving.

He that the Mokwa fatal crash occurred at about 3.30 a.m., while a lone crash also occurred in Otukpo at about 11.35 a.m. on Tuesday.

“According to preliminary investigation conducted into the fatal crashes, the Ibadan avoidable accident is a lone crash that involves a Toyota bus bearing the following registration details TRK 135 ZY.

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“While the Mokwa crash involved a trailer transiting from Lagos which had a head-on collision with a bus and the Otukpo lone crash involving a bus registered as NAK 77 XA, occurred as a result of a fallen tree that blocked the highway.

“18 people, all male adults are involved in the Ibadan crash, out of which 10 were killed, six injured and the rest rescued without injuries,” he said.

Biu added that 10 victims were killed in the Mokwa crash, nine of which were confirmed dead on the spot and one other died in the hospital.

He however said zero fatality was recorded in the Otukpo lone crash but the injured victims have been taken to St. Daniels Hospital Otukpo for urgent treatment.

According to him, six victims with degrees of injuries during the rescue operations of the Ibadan crash were given adequate first aid by the corps’ medical rescue team before moving them to Ibadan Central Hospital for proper medical attention.

The FRSC boss added that the remains of the dead victims had been deposited in Adeoyo General Hospital Morgue in Ibadan.

He noted that the main cause of the crash according to the report was dangerous driving, road obstruction, and excessive speed which led to loss of control.

Biu assured the motorists, particularly law-abiding ones, that the corps had already enhanced its visibility and intensified patrol operations to gurantee sanity on highways.

The FRSC boss further directed the immediate deployment of a special squad to the affected part of the Otukpo-Makurdi highway to ensure the speedy removal of the fallen tree and a traffic control team to ensure free flow of traffic.

“The deployed squad has already commenced the cutting of the tree for immediate evacuation.

“The motoring public is admonished to exercise patience, maintain the lowest possible speed while plying the route,” he added.

Biu further advised motorists to allow the spirit of love that came with the season reflect in the manner they drove.

The Star