Six people, including four National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and one Nigerian Army officer, died in a fatal collision between a military gun-truck and a commercial Hummer bus on the Yola–Song highway in Adamawa State on Wednesday. The crash occurred near Barikin-Sajo at a dangerous bend, where the military vehicle reportedly attempted to overtake another vehicle at high speed before colliding head-on with the bus traveling from Kano to Mubi. The impact triggered a fire that quickly engulfed the Hummer bus, leaving passengers trapped and unable to escape. Eyewitnesses described the scene as too gruesome to photograph, with the bus burning beyond recognition.
A witness told SaharaReporters that the military truck veered into the path of the oncoming bus during the overtaking attempt. Both vehicles were believed to have been moving at high speed prior to the crash. While some eyewitnesses claimed the death toll reached 10, official sources confirmed six fatalities. According to police spokesperson SP Suleiman Nguro, all five passengers in the Hummer bus were killed, including four NYSC members serving in Adamawa State, and one soldier from the military truck also died. Two others reportedly died later from injuries, but authorities have not included them in the confirmed toll.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed the incident, with spokesperson Abdulrahman Tukur stating that emergency responders and security personnel arrived to evacuate victims and remove wreckage. The Yola–Song highway has been identified as a high-risk route due to frequent dangerous overtaking, especially on bends. Road safety experts have long warned that such maneuvers on blind spots are major contributors to fatal head-on crashes across Nigeria. Despite ongoing enforcement by the FRSC, collisions involving commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, and security convoys remain common.
The military truck was attempting a high-speed overtake at a known dangerous bend when it caused a fatal crash that killed four NYSC members and a soldier. That a vehicle operated by security personnel contributed to such a deadly accident undermines claims of adherence to road safety standards by official convoys. The NYSC members were serving in Adamawa at the time, and their deaths occurred on a route where similar avoidable crashes have happened before. No explanation has been given for why the military vehicle was driven recklessly despite existing safety protocols.
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