18 Sokoto residents killed while returning home from Lagos

At least 18 persons died in a road accident along the Sokoto-Yauri road in Kebbi State on their way back home to Sokoto from Lagos where they had gone looking for ways of making a living.

The deceased were among 20 passengers traveling in an 18-seater commercial bus which is alleged to have had a head-on collision with a trailer at about 11 p.m. on Monday resulting in the death of 18 persons while two others sustained injuries.

According to an eyewitness who visited the accident site, the deceased passengers were going back to Sokoto after spending some days in Lagos looking for means of earning a living.

Bello Muhammad who is a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and also a good friend of the deceased driver was quoted saying that he went together with other members of the community to evacuate the injured persons after learning about the accident.

According to him, they got to the scene around 4 a.m. on Tuesday and discovered that there was a head-on collision between the 18-seater commercial bus and a trailer.

“We were informed that our colleague had been involved in a road accident shortly after Yauri town. By the time we arrived, 18 people had already died and the vehicle was completely wrecked,” he said.

According to him, the bodies were taken to the General Hospital in Yauri, where relatives identified the victims before they were released.

He said he personally drove the bodies of those from Kajiji Ward to their communities for burial.

Muhammad identified the victims from Kajiji Ward as the driver, Manniru Sabo, Basiru Shehu, both from Kajiji village, and another victim from a village under Kajiji Ward.

He added that seven of the deceased were from Bingaje and Gudirriga villages in Yabo Local Government Area, while two others were from Gada Local Government Area.

The remaining victims, he said, were from other communities across Sokoto State.

“Passengers travelling to Sokoto from Lagos are usually picked from any location they belong in Sokoto before the journey begins, which is why the victims came from different communities across the state,” he explained.

He said many of the victims will be buried in Yauri because their bodies were badly mutilated in the crash, while those brought to Kajiji had since been buried according to Islamic rites.

He added that the two survivors sustained minor injuries, one of them being the bus conductor.

Alhaji Shehu Jabo, a close associate of the owner of the commercial bus, said he also joined in conveying the bodies to Kajiji and attended the funeral prayers of the victims from Shagari Local Government Area.

He described the condition of the bodies as heartbreaking, saying members of the community were devastated by the extent of the damage.

“We were overwhelmed with grief because many of the bodies were badly mangled. It was difficult to recognise some of them,” he said.

Jabo stated that the truck swerved onto the path of the commercial bus causing the accident.

As per him, only one among the 20 passengers who died in the crash was a resident of Gwandu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, whereas the others hailed from Sokoto State. Moreover, he said that one of the two survivors is the bus conductor who had the chance to meet and interact with the deceased bus driver before he left for Lagos.

The Chairman of Shagari Local Government Area, Barrister Maidawa Kajiji, reported the accident to newspaper and sympathized with the families of the dead.

He consoled the families of the deceased persons and wished that Allah may forgive their sins, reward them with paradise and provide them with the patience to cope with the irreplaceable loss.