Dozens of Eid holiday makers killed in auto crash

Dozens of Muslim worshippers have been killed in a crash in Kaduna state.

The victims were travelling to celebrate Eid-el-Maulud, Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in the northern town of Saminaka.

Their bus collided with an oncoming truck near the town of Lere, an organiser of the Eid celebration said.

An official at the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency put the death toll at 36 on Monday morning.

However, event organiser Ahmad Dayyabu said up to 40 people had died and 31 more were being treated in hospital.

“They took off from the town of Kwandare on their way to Saminaka. On reaching the town of Lere, their vehicle was run over by a trailer truck,” he said.
The bus is said to have been overloaded.
More than 1,470 people died in road collisions across Nigeria in the first quarter of 2024, official statistics show.

That is around 16 people per day on average.

The Federal Government declared Monday a public holiday in order to mark this year’s Eid-el-Maulud.