•FRSC officials at scene of accident
At least 1,593 Nigerians lost their lives in road traffic crashes during the first quarter of 2025, according to figures released by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The data also shows a disturbing rise in both fatalities and injuries, despite a slight drop in the overall number of crashes, reports Daily Trust.
The FRSC reported a total of 2,650 road traffic crashes (RTCs) across the country between January and March 2025. This marks a 0.9% decrease from the 2,674 crashes recorded in the same period in 2024.
However, the number of people killed surged by 8.3%, from 1,471 in Q1 2024 to 1,593 in Q1 2025. In addition, the number of injured persons rose by 7.4%, with 9,298 injuries recorded in Q1 2025 compared to 8,659 in the corresponding quarter of 2024.
The statistics suggest that while fewer crashes occurred, they were deadlier and more injurious, pointing to an increase in the severity of road accidents across the country.
However, reports from national dailies as compiled by our correspondent show that at least 131 people lost their lives in major auto crashes across eight states only within the first two months of 2025.
It was gathered that the alarming frequency and severity of road accidents across different regions in the country is claiming more lives.
According to the reports, on February 1, at least 30 passengers were burned to death in a tragic accident at Mile 49 on the Ore-Lagos Road in Ondo State. The crash occurred when two commercial buses, driving against traffic, collided and burst into flames. The victims were burned beyond recognition, making identification difficult for authorities.
Similarly, on January 11, a fatal accident in Plateau State claimed 19 lives and left 11 others injured in the Kwana Maciji area of Pankshin Local Government Area. The victims were attending a wedding ceremony when the tragic incident occurred, turning a moment of joy into mourning.
On February 14, a deadly crash occurred in Kano under the Muhammadu Buhari Interchange Flyover along the Kano-Maiduguri Road in Hotoro. The accident involved a DAF trailer carrying both goods and passengers. Preliminary investigations indicate that reckless driving and excessive speed led to the driver losing control of the vehicle. Of the 71 people involved, 23 lost their lives, while 48 sustained injuries.
In Kwara State, on January 22, a devastating crash in the Oko-Olowo area of Ilorin West LGA resulted in the deaths of 18 people. The collision involved a trailer carrying cattle and passengers and a mini-truck. Authorities attributed the accident to excessive speed.
Another tragedy struck in Lokoja on January 14, when six people were killed and 60 others injured near the Zone 8 Roundabout along Hassan Katsina Road. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) reported that an articulated truck traveling from Bauchi to Enugu lost control, leading to the catastrophic crash.
A few days later, on February 17, six students of the Federal University Lokoja lost their lives in a fatal accident along the Felele–Abuja Highway in Lokoja, Kogi State.
On January 10, in Dankama, Kaita Local Government Area of Katsina State, nine people were killed, and 21 others were injured in a crash involving a trailer carrying cows and passengers. The trailer detached from its main body and fell on a pavement as the driver attempted to avoid a woman who had fallen from an overloaded Golf car carrying beans.
The first reported major accident of the year occurred on January 2 in Gombe State, where seven people died in a lone crash along the Kaltungo-Cham Road. The incident involved a trailer transporting soft drinks and 38 passengers. Authorities suspect brake failure as the cause. Thirty-one others sustained injuries.
Similarly, on February 22, 12 people lost their lives in a head coalition between a Wemer passenger bus, carrying 15 people, and a trailer at Nami village along the Lapai-Agaie road, Niger State.
A regional analysis of these fatalities shows that the North-Central zone recorded the highest death toll, with 48 fatalities from accidents in Plateau and Kwara states. The North-West followed with 32 deaths, including 23 in Kano and nine in Katsina. In the South-West, a single devastating crash in Ondo State claimed 30 lives, while the North-East recorded seven deaths in Gombe State.
‘Buses, trucks, and trailers lead in fatal road crashes across Nigeria’
According to the compiled reports, the types of vehicles commonly involved in the fatal crashes include commercial buses, articulated trucks and trailers. The incidents show a recurring pattern where buses, often carrying passengers beyond their capacity, are involved in high-impact collisions. For instance, in the Mile 49 Ore-Lagos crash, two commercial buses collided head-on while driving against traffic, resulting in multiple fatalities. Similarly, in Kano and Lokoja, articulated trucks carrying both passengers and goods were linked to deadly accidents, with reckless driving and excessive speed cited as major causes. Trailers, frequently overloaded with passengers and livestock, were also involved, as seen in the Kwara, Katsina, and Niger crashes.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) 2023 annual report retrieved from the corps website as there is no updated copy of 2024 confirms a concerning trend in the types of vehicles most frequently involved in accidents across Nigeria. According to the report, buses account for the highest number of crashes, followed by articulated trucks and trailers. This pattern aligns with the recent fatalities recorded recently, where buses were involved in the deadliest incidents, including those in Ondo, Plateau, and Niger states.
FRSC speaks
The primary causes of the recent fatal auto crashes align with the trends identified in the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) 2023 annual report, which lists speed violations, sign-light violations, and wrongful overtaking as the leading causes of road accidents in Nigeria.
“Excessive speed has been a major factor in many of the crashes, as seen in the Kwara, Kano, and Niger incidents, where vehicles lost control due to high velocity.
“Reckless driving, particularly driving against traffic, also played a role in the Mile 49 Ore-Lagos crash, where two commercial buses collided head-on, leading to a devastating fire that claimed at least 30 lives. Similarly, wrongful overtaking contributed to the accident in Katsina, where a trailer overturned while the driver attempted to maneuver around an overloaded vehicle.
“In addition to speed-related violations, mechanical failures such as brake malfunctions have significantly contributed to the fatalities. The Gombe accident, which involved a trailer carrying passengers and soft drinks, was attributed to brake failure, a common issue among overloaded trucks and buses.
“Overloading remains a critical problem, with many vehicles carrying both passengers and goods increasing the risk of losing control. The FRSC has repeatedly warned that these dangerous practices not only endanger passengers but also other road users,” the report read.
The FRSC Sector Commanders from the different affected states emphasised that these dangerous practices significantly increase the risk of fatal accidents. They called on road users and motorists to obey traffic rules in order to curtail the menace of traffic road accidents in the country.
Nigeria tops death chart in Africa
Africa has the world’s highest road accident death rates, with Nigeria topping the list of African countries with the most traffic accident-related fatalities, according to World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO estimates over 1.3 million people die every year as a result of traffic accidents worldwide, and more than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
According to WHO, its estimate of 41,693 deaths on Nigerian roads was 2.82 percent of the global total.
Similarly, World Bank ranks Nigeria 54th in the world in the number of road accidents.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also listed tyre-bursting, route violations and bad roads among factors responsible for road traffic crashes in Nigeria.
