The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says no fewer than 20 people were killed in road crashes along the Ibadan-Lagos route and Mokwa town in Niger.

The FRSC acting corps marshal, Dauda Biu, confirmed this in a statement by the corps public education officer, Bisi Kazeem, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Biu decried the incessant violation of legal speed limits and noticeable traces of dangerous driving during the Christmas celebration.

The corps marshal attributed the crash that occurred at 6:30 p.m. along the Ibadan-Lagos route, a few minutes before Gurumaraji area, Oyo State, to wanton violation of speed limit and indulgence in dangerous driving.

He said the Mokwa fatal crash occurred at 3:30 a.m., while a lone crash occurred in Otukpo at about 11:35 a.m. on Tuesday.

“According to a 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.

“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 ten were killed, six injured, and the rest rescued without injuries,” he said.

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

He, however, said that 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 acting corps marshal 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 the loss of control.

He assured the motoring public, particularly law-abiding ones, that the corps had already enhanced its visibility and intensified patrol operations to guarantee sanity on highways.

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

“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 said.

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

(NAN)