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•FRSC boss orders probe
By Moses Akaigwe
No fewer than 13 people lost their lives while two others sustained injuries in a multiple auto crash which occurred at Obajana town in Kogi State.
Kogi Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kogi Sector, Mr Samuel Oyedeji, yesterday, said the sad incident occurred around 7:30pm, on Sunday. He said the accident involving a commercial Sharon bus and an articulated cement truck, occurred by Obajana Market, along Obajana -Lokoja Road in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The sector commander said the Sharon bus had packed behind a truck around the market for passengers to buy some things, when the cement truck lost its brake and rammed into it from behind.
“And that as soon as the truck rammed into the bus, it immediately went up in flames and burnt virtually all the passengers inside it. Also burnt were the bus, two trucks and a motorcycle.
The bus was reportedly heading to Abuja from the southern part of the country.
“Our personnel, who were on rescue operations with Red Cross Nigeria and Police officers, couldn’t save the situation due the fierceness of the fire. But the charred remains of the affected people were collected, while the two injured people have been taken to Fisayo Hospital, Obajana for medical attention,” the FRSC sector commander said.
Oyedeji expressed worry that no hospital in Kogi agreed to take the charred bodies to keep, which might force the authorities to give them a massive burial if their relatives failed to come around.
The sector commander described the incident as “very sad and unfortunate”, and cautioned motorists against speeding and poor maintenance of their vehicles.
He advised motorists to always check their vehicles to ensure everything is in order before embarking on a journey to avoid road crashes.
Meanwhile, the Corps Marshal, FRSC, Dauda Ali Biu, has directed the Kogi State Sector Commander of the corps to commence a detailed investigation that would lead to speedy prosecution of all the drivers responsible for the road traffic crash.
The FRSC boss was optimistic that with the recent collaboration between the FRSC, the Nigerian Bar Association, as well as the judiciary in the states, the drivers responsible for the crash will not go scot free. Biu assured that they were going to be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012 and those found guilty will bear the consequences of their actions.
