No fewer than 18 people from Sokoto State have been confirmed dead in a tragic road accident along the Sokoto–Yauri road in Kebbi State while returning home from Lagos, where they had travelled in search of livelihoods.

The victims were among 20 passengers travelling in an 18-seater commercial bus when it reportedly collided head-on with a trailer around 11 p.m. on Monday night, leaving 18 people dead on the spot and two others with injuries.

An eyewitness, who visited the scene, told Daily Trust that the passengers were returning to Sokoto after spending some time in Lagos in search of means of livelihood.

Bello Muhammad, a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and a close friend of the late driver, said he joined other community members in evacuating the victims after receiving news of the crash.

He said they arrived at the scene at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday and found that the 18-seater commercial bus had collided head-on with 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 alleged that the truck veered into the lane of the commercial bus, resulting in the fatal collision.

According to him, only one of the 20 passengers was from Gwandu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, while the remaining 19 were from Sokoto State. He added that one of the two survivors was the bus conductor and recalled meeting and chatting with the late driver shortly before he departed for Lagos.

The Chairman of Shagari Local Government Area, Barrister Maidawa Kajiji, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust and expressed sorrow over the tragedy.

He condoled with the families of the deceased and prayed for Allah to forgive their shortcomings, grant them Aljannatul Firdaus and give their loved ones the strength to bear the irreparable loss. (Daily Trust)