Nine persons died while two others were injured in a truck accident at Piri village along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.
A witness, Samson Yakubu, said the accident involving a Howo truck with registration number FKY 922 XB occurred at about 5:37am yesterday.
He said the truck, which was loaded with ceramic tiles, was travelling from Ajaokuta in Kogi State to Kano when the driver allegedly lost control due to fatigue and plunged into a ditch.
According to him, nine of the 11 persons sitting on top of the tiles were trapped and died when the truck crashed into the ditch, while the two survivors were rescued by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and taken to the General Hospital, Kwali, for treatment.
Yakubu said some villagers joined the FRSC rescue team to remove the tiles before the trapped bodies could be recovered.
An FRSC official attached to the Yangoji Unit Command, who participated in the rescue operation, also confirmed the incident, saying all nine deceased victims were males.
The official attributed the crash to fatigue and a violation of speed limits, adding that the bodies had been deposited at the mortuary of the General Hospital, Kwali, while the injured victims were receiving treatment at the same facility.
The FCT Sector Commander of the FRSC, Tijjani Iliyasu, also confirmed the accident, although he said he was still awaiting detailed information from the Yangoji Unit Command.
He expressed concern over the practice of some passengers travelling on top of goods loaded onto trailers, warning that it exposed them to serious danger.
Iliyasu said the FRSC had consistently sensitised trailer drivers on the dangers of carrying passengers on top of goods during long-distance journeys and had sanctioned drivers caught violating the regulations.
The sector commander also disclosed that the construction firm handling the dualisation of a section of the Abuja-Lokoja highway had been booked for allegedly failing to provide adequate traffic warning signs along the construction corridor.