Tears of road accident, no fewer than 31 persons died in road crashes in Kaduna and Niger states.
Twenty of the fatalities occurred on Kaduna-Kano Expressway, while 11 happened in Wuya, a village in Lemu Local Government Area of Niger State.
Both crashes took place at the weekend.
The Kaduna incident involved a Hummer bus and a Toyota Rav4 SUV. The bus was Kano-bound, while the SUV was headed for Zaria, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan said in a statement.
Quoting eyewitnesses, Aruwan said the crash was a head-on collision resulting from dangerous driving and overtaking at a diversion point.
“Governor Nasir El-Rufai received the reports with sadness and prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead, while sending condolences to their families,” he said.
Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje also condoled with families of the crash victims.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, the governor said, “Their death came to us as very shocking. This is a great loss not only to their families, but to all of us, the government and the people of Kano state.”
Commissioner of Police in Niger State Adamu Usman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna that other people sustained injuries when the accident occurred.
Usman said the accident occurred in the afternoon when the tyre of an articulated vehicle got punctured.
He said the vehicle was carrying 23 motorcycles and was heeded for Lagos.
“Eleven people died on the spot while several others who sustained various degrees of injuries were evacuated to the Federal Medical Centre, Bida for treatment,” he added.
