At least five Nigerian Air Force (NAF) servicemen and fourteen additional civilians lost their lives in an automobile accident at Hawan Kibo in Plateau State’s Riyom Local Government Area on Tuesday.
NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Olusola Akinboyewa made the announcement in a news release.
The statement reads: “The unfortunate incident occurred around Hawan Kibo along the Jos-Akwanga Express Road.
“Our personnel were heading for a sporting event in Abuja when their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck.
“Consequently, statutory administrative protocols applicable in circumstances as this have been activated by the NAF to provide comfort and succour to the bereaved families.”
Peter Longsan, a spokesperson for the state’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), said the accident occurred when an 18-passenger Hiace bus travelling from Yola through Jos to Abuja collided with a stationary articulated vehicle on the highway, killing the driver and all 18 passengers.
Longsan blamed the disaster on fast speeds, which caused the bus to collide with the articulated vehicle, killing everyone on board.
He added that the manifest obtained from the vehicle revealed that the ill-fated vehicle had 18 passengers in addition to its driver.
He stated that the victims’ corpses had been placed at a mortuary and that FRSC workers had cleaned the car wreckage from the roadway.
