Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Sector Commander Yusuf Abdullahi said this in a road traffic report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi Sunday.

He said the lone accident, which involved one Toyota Hiace bus with registration number BA124 AO6, happened around 11:50 a.m.

According to him, it took the personnel of the corps barely 20 minutes to arrive at the scene of the crash to clear the site.

Abdullahi attributed the cause of the crash to tyre burst and loss of control.

He said: “Twenty-two people were involved in the fatal road crash and there were two male adults, four male children, 10 female adults and six female children.

“Six of them lost their lives on the spot and there are two female adults, two male children and two female children.”

Abdullahi also stated that both the injured person and the remains of the deceased had been taken to the Kafin Madaki General Hospital for treatment and confirmation.

He added that arrangements had been made to transfer the injured to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBU-TH) for further treatment.

The sector commander, however, advised road users to always be conscious of traffic rules and regulations while plying the roads.

He urged vehicle owners and drivers to always ensure good tyres, average speed, routine vehicle maintenance and a sound state of mind while driving.

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

In a related development, three persons also died while six others sustained varying degrees of injuries in an accident that occurred on Christmas day along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The accident, according to reports, occurred at 5.50am at the Kara turning point of the highway in the Obafemi-Owode local government area of Ogun state.

Public Education Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state, Florence Okpe, confirmed the accident in a statement issued Sunday.

Okpe said 18 persons who were all male adults were involved in the accident caused by speed and wrongful overtaking.

She explained that the two vehicles involved in the accident were a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number AYB 88 XP and another vehicle with no registration number.

She said: “Six persons sustained various degrees of injuries and unfortunately three persons were recorded dead from the crash and the remaining people were unhurt.

“Two vehicles were involved in the accident. A Toyota Haice bus with registration number AYB 88 XP and another vehicle with no registration number on it.

“The suspected cause of the crash was excessive speed from the bus driver who made an attempt to overtake the truck, but was not successful, rather, he lost control and hit the truck at the rear and the truck did not stop.

“The injured victims were taken to Famobis Hospital for medical attention while the corpses were deposited at Idera Hospital morgue, Sagamu.”

Shi’ites at Christmas service

Meanwhile, as a mark of solidarity and religious tolerance, members of the Shi’ite Islamic sect Sunday attended a Christmas church service held at the Church of Brethren in Nigeria (Ekkelisiyar `Yan Uwa Ta Nigeria (EYN), Samaru, Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna state.

The group also presented a gift to the church to further strengthen religious tolerance between the two faiths.

Speaking to journalists after the service, leader of the team, Isah Mshelgaru, said they were at the church to rejoice with Christians on the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Mshelgaru further said the visit was to rekindle and cement the existing relationship between the two faiths.

He said: “Islam says if someone is not your brother in faith, he is your brother in humanity and we share this humanity with everybody, either Muslim, Christian or whatever.’

“We decided to attend this church service today because today is Christmas Day; a day that the birth of Jesus Christ is being celebrated over the globe and we feel that we also have our concern to share with them the feelings of the day Jesus was born.

“The coming of Jesus to this world is a blessing to everybody, so we wish that we should come and celebrate this glorious day with them.”

As Muslims, the team leader said they considered Christians as fellow brothers and sisters in humanity, pointing out they were at the church service to join them in celebrating and sharing the joy of this day with them.

In his message of appreciation, EYN Church Resident Pastor Tijjani Chindo thanked the Muslim faithful whom he said they received with joy and appealed for the replication of the gesture across the country.

Chindo said the real reason for the coming of Jesus Christ was to salvage humanity from the bondage of sin.

Chindo said: “We are all one, as the Lord has told us to love one another and extend the good tidings of salvation which Christ has brought to the world.

“He (Christ) has come in a humble way; we are celebrating his coming in a humble way, we are not differentiating ourselves from Muslims. Today we are celebrating the good news that the Lord has come.’’

Credit: Blueprint