The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Kaduna State Sector Command said it has arrested a driver who crushed six persons to death and injured 30 others on the Kano-Zaria road.
The Sector Commander, Mr Kabir Nadabo, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kaduna.
Nadabo said the cause of the accident was overloading and dangerous driving.
He disclosed that the road crash occurred on Thursday, saying, ”A trailer driver conveying bags of rice from Kano to Warri in Delta had a lone accident at Wambai along the Kano-Zaria Highway.”
He said that preliminary investigation revealed that the trailer was traveling at a dangerous speed and had resulted in a crash, which resulted in the death of the deceased.
“Men of FRSC and the police conducted the rescue and were on ground for an on-the-spot assessment.”
Nadabo further said that the investigation indicated that the trailer was carrying 57 people, of whom six died and 30 were injured.
“Apparently, the driver lost control of the vehicle due to high speed, and the injured were conveyed to Makarfi General Hospital for further treatment,” he said.
Nadabo stated further that FRSC, on February 24, inaugurated its Joint Special Task Force on Overloading of Goods, Humans, and Animals with other agencies like the Police, NSCDC, FRSC, and KASTLEA.
He said, “The Corps Marshal of FRSC, Dauda Biu, had tasked the Kaduna State Command to work with various security agencies as well as stakeholders.
”This is to ensure drivers overloading their vehicles with goods, humans, and animals are stopped, enlightened, and cautioned on the dangers inherent in the act.
“The joint operation recorded numerous successes with the apprehension of 67 trailers; 1,807 passengers were dropped and made to continue their journeys with alternative vehicles.”
He disclosed that the exercise didn’t record any crashes during the operations except on March 4, when a trailer rammed into a golf saloon car at Abakpa along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway, killing five people.
Nadabo said that FRSC, as the lead agency in traffic management and road administration, would continue to engage all the relevant stakeholders on the need to sensitize drivers on the dangers of overloading and night driving.
“What we witnessed today is avoidable and tragic; may I unequivocally state that the driver has been arrested and will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
“The corps will continue to explore ways to address the fundamental challenges of rad crashes with a view to reducing them to the barest minimum, “Nadabo said.
The sector commander commended the Kaduna State Government and other stakeholders for their sustained support of the corps.
Nadabo also lauded the media for their friendship, reliability, and support of FRSC programmes aimed at propagating the word of safety to Nigerians.
