Twelve persons have been reported dead while others sustained varying injuries in a multi-vehicle collision involving a trailer and another automobile along Oko Olowo stretch of the Ilorin-Jebba Expressway in Kwara State.
The crash occurred on Wednesday around 5:35 pm when a trailer with the registration number AYE 218 XC collided head-on with a vehicle bearing the registration number TTN 556 XA.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) state command has not yet released an official statement regarding the accident, although a senior official confirmed the incident to journalists via a telephone interview.
The official told Channels Television that one of the vehicles involved was transporting both cattle and human passengers from Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, to Ogbomoso in Oyo State, while the trailer was en route from Lagos to Kano.
Emergency responders and police from the ‘G’ Division Police Command in Oloje arrived promptly to manage the situation, and the injured were swiftly taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
Families of the deceased victims reportedly removed the bodies from the scene.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation, but initial reports suggest that reckless driving and excessive speed may have played a role.
The media platform claimed to have obtained a video clip which captured the overturned truck with over ten bodies scattered across the roadway.
In the footage, a voice urged the government to implement urgent measures to prevent the frequent accidents that have recently claimed numerous lives in that area.
A senior FRSC official in Kwara, who requested anonymity, stated that 15 individuals lost their lives in the multiple crashes, with three others sustaining injuries.
In a telephone chat, the FRSC Sector Commander, Muftau Irekeola, confirmed the incident, saying, “But I am still waiting for the details from my boys in Olooru unit.”
“That we have 15 casualties may not be far from the truth but I am still waiting for details. I am waiting for the details from my boys. It was a multiple accident involving a trailer and one Canter truck.”
