18 killed as luxurious bus tries to evade robbers on Abuja-Lokoja expressway.

Eighteen people died on Friday morning in an auto accident along Abuja-Lokoja Expressway.According to the Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Ogochukwu Ugboma, 16 of the dead were men, two women and a female child. Nine other persons sustained injuries from the accident.

The accident, which occourred around 5.45am near Gegu community, involved a First Tarzan Lagos-bound luxurious bus with registration number Lagos XT 286 LSD.

“86 persons, comprising two children, 59 men and 25 women were involved in the accident,” Ugboma said. “Though the cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, some eyewitnesses said the bus ran into an ambush laid by armed robbers.”

Quoting eyewitnesses, Ugboma said  the driver was making a U-turn in a bid to escape the robbers when the bus plunged into a ditch and somersaulted, leading to the death of 18 of its passengers.

He added that the injured and the dead had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre in Lokoja, Kogi State, while an investigation into the cause of the accident had been initiated.

Punch