CHIKA OTUCHIKERE writes on a lone lorry accident which occurred between 4 am and 5 am on Tuesday last week in Takalafia village, on the Yawuri Expressway in the Magama Local Government Area of Niger State.
Tuesday, November 21 was very tragic for residents of Takalafia village in the Magama Local Government Area of Niger State when a lorry crashed in the community killing 17 people.
Some eyewitnesses, who came to the scene immediately after the crash occurred, said the articulated vehicle which was going to Lagos from Sokoto State was fully loaded with sacks of onions and over 150 people.
The driver of the lorry, who sustained a minor injury, was said to have been at high speed in an attempt to avoid any shocking encounter with bandits, who also use the road and the adjoining forests for their nefarious activities.
On how the crash occurred, they said the driver of the lorry lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a Baptist Church building by the side of the road killing 17 occupants on the spot.
According to the eyewitnesses, the Federal Road Safety Corps stormed the scene almost immediately after the accident occurred and took about 19 passengers, who were seriously injured to the Kontagora General Hospital in Kontagora Local Government Area in Niger.
They also said the actual figure of the occupants of the lorry could not be immediately ascertained because as soon as the crash happened many of the passengers who had minor injuries simply alighted from the vehicle and disappeared into thin air.
The driver of the lorry also escaped from the accident scene before the arrival of the law enforcement officers.
The wrecked lorry was still at the scene of the accident when The PUNCH arrived. Some security personnel at the scene said the police and FRSC were looking for how to convey the lorry into custody and being an articulated vehicle they have not found the right means to tow the lorry.
At the Kontagora General Hospital, although journalists were not allowed to go to the wing where the victims were, it was learnt that two of the injured victims receiving treatments gave up the ghost while those in critical conditions were responding to treatment. Medical personnel could not speak with journalists, but a nurse who spoke under anonymity said, the sight of some of the victims was horrible and it would take divine intervention to prevent more from dying.
“I was on duty when they were brought in from the accident scene. Initially, we thought there were several vehicles involved in the accident but later we learnt that it was only one lorry. This kind of accident is a common occurrence in this area but it seems to have reduced dramatically. I remember a similar one that occurred in February this year, about 28 people died in that accident. It also involved a lorry with so many passengers.
“Our major challenge in the hospital is that the crowd is overwhelming. We tried to accommodate all of them. This morning two of the injured victims died leaving us with 17 others who are in critical condition. We pray that they can make it,” the nurse said.
A security agent who did not want to disclose his name said the authorities must make efforts to stop these lorries from carrying large numbers of people. According to him, intelligence has shown that most of these passengers are from neighbouring countries like Niger Republic and they use this means of transportation to enter the country undetected.
“Our Immigration officials must be vigilant. These lorries are used to carry people from Niger Republic and other countries into Nigeria. If we conduct a thorough scrutiny of the identities of these people, it will prove that most of them are not Nigerians. In this era of banditry, the government should not encourage this type of movement. We must make haste to end this insecurity, especially in the north where most of the county’s borders are located” the security personnel said.
A staffer of the Magama Local Government, Ahmed Bello, who spoke with The PUNCH gave an account of the tragic accident saying that the potholes on the road and high speed were responsible for the accident.
“It was a fatal accident. It was a lorry coming from Sokoto and immediately it got to Ibeto village and then came down from Kontagora which is between Ibeto and Kontagora that was where the accident happened and it was a pothole. I believe the driver was speeding.
“So when he got into the pothole, the body of the lorry moved from the main head, and the body was fully loaded with onions have also a lot of people in it.
“When it ran into that pothole, immediately the lorry detached itself from the head and moved into a church. Yes, the driver escaped from the scene and he has not been found. From the view of the accident, the driver did not see the pothole when he ran into it.
“You know the lorry was loaded with onions and it was due to that load that most of the people lost their lives. The FRSC officials arrived early around 8 am. Considering the distance between Kontagora and the scene of the accident they tried because they were the ones who carried the injured to the hospital. The lorry is still there, it has not been moved from the scene,” Bello said.
Meanwhile, Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago has expressed shock over the road traffic crash and the deaths. In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, the governor described the accident as unfortunate and avoidable. He decried the insensitivity of some drivers especially those who, he said, violate the established traffic rules and end up causing sorrows for people and their loved ones.
He cautioned drivers of trailers and other haulage vehicles to desist from conveying passengers in their vehicles saying it poses serious dangers to the lives of the passengers and other road users. He further said his government will work closely with relevant government authorities both at the local, state and federal levels to ensure that stringent penalties are meted out to traffic rule violators.
