20 killed in Abuja autocrash

20 killed in Abuja autocrash Written by Ayoade Abeel Tuesday, 19 July 2011

BLOOD flowed freely on the Nyanya-Mararaba road, on Monday, as autocrashes claimed no fewer than 20 lives. The first accident, according to an eyewitness, happened early in the afternoon, when an articulated lorry carrying iron rods and heading to Nyanya from the Abuja axis, had a brake failure and swerved onto the other lane.
The articulated lorry was said to have rammed into three vehicles, including commercial buses and crushed many occupants in the process.
About an hour later, another trailer conveying a bulldozer to an unknown destination lost control at Kugbo Furniture Centre on the same road and was said to have left an undisclosed number of persons dead.
The second articulated lorry was believed to be “on the service” of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Department of Development Control but the public relations officer of the department, Josie Mudashiru, denied that the department’s bulldozer was involved in an accident, when contacted for confirmation.
Lorry drivers still defy the directive by the FCT administration for them not to ply Abuja roads during the day. The defiance has continued despite the task force set up to arrest defaulters.
The Minister of the FCT, Bala Mohammed, had, 11 days ago, given a directive for alternative routes to be opened up for motorists from Abuja to neighbouring states on the opposite carriageway from Nyanya to the Nnamdi Azikwe Expressway. This was done to address the traffic bottlenecks usually experienced on the road during peak hours of the morning and the evening.
He also directed that all commercial activities on the route, especially the furniture market at Kugbo and an illegal motor park close to Nyanya Interchange be immediately cleared, to enhance traffic flow.
Men and officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Vehicle Inspection Office and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) helped to evacuate the victims, while the number plate of the vehicles involved could not be seen, as none of the officers volunteered comment.
Though the actual number of the victims could not be confirmed by the relevant authorities at the time of filing this report, eyewitnesses confirmed that the number could be higher, as none of the occupants of one of the buses survived the accident except a baby.
Already, the only road out of Abuja was subsequently blocked due to the accident, with motorists and civil servants, who were on their way home after the day’s work, were trapped in the traffic jam.
While several commuters were observed trekking home, the authorities had a hectic time controlling the traffic and removing the debris.
It was confirmed that the remains of the victims of the accident had been deposited at the Asokoro General Hospital, while those seriously injured were also taken to hospitals for treatment.
In a reaction to the accident, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Muha-mmad Sule, the Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, commiserated with the victims and those who lost their loved ones in the multiple motor accidents.
He regretted the loss of lives and assured that the government was working to ameliorate the traffic crisis on the route.