14 die in central Nigeria road crash

KANO, Nigeria: At least 14 people were killed on Saturday when a bus collided with a petrol tanker in central Nigerian Niger state, a road safety official told AFP on Sunday.

The passenger bus rammed into the on-coming petrol tanker as the driver tried to overtake another bus outside Kusobogi village, 80-kms from the state capital Minna, Kumar Tsukwan, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger state, said.

“Fourteen people died in the head-on collision while six others were injured and taken to hospital for medical attention,” Tsukwan said.

He blamed “speeding and wrongful overtaking” by the bus driver for the accident. The bus was heading to the northern city of Kaduna from the Nigerian economic capital Lagos, Tsukwan said. Road accidents are common on Nigeria´s poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard to traffic rules.