16 Die in Kogi Bus Crash on Lokoja-Okene Highway

At least 16 passengers died and six others were injured Friday morning when a Toyota Hiace bus veered off the Lokoja-Okene highway near Aku village in Kogi State's Osara area and plunged under a bridge.

The accident occurred around 9:20 a.m. and involved a commercial bus with registration number BUU 17 ZD traveling from Jos in Plateau State to Lagos. The vehicle carried 22 passengers, including 21 men and one woman. According to Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lawal Fagge, the crash resulted from driver fatigue and excessive speed. The bus lost control, left the road, and fell into a ditch, killing 16 occupants on the spot, including 15 men and the sole female passenger.

Fagge confirmed the details in statements to reporters. Rescue teams from the FRSC's Zariagi Unit responded promptly to a distress call, evacuating the injured to medical facilities. Five survivors received treatment at Osara Hospital, while one was taken to the Specialist Hospital in Lokoja. The bodies of the deceased were deposited at Ankuri Mortuary in Lokoja.

A survivor recounted warning the driver about signs of fatigue and urging him to stop and rest, but the driver continued,...