TheCable

Eighteen persons lost their lives instantly in an accident which occurred on Abuja-Lokoja road in the early hours of Friday.

Ogochukwu Ugboma, the state sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who confirmed the accident, said 16 men and two women were involved in the mishap.

He told NAN that 56 other persons, including a female child, sustained injuries in the accident.

Ugboma said the accident, which occurred at about 5:45am, near Gegu village, involved a Lagos bound luxury bus with registration number Lagos XT 286 LSD belonging to a popular transport company, First Tarzan.

He said 86 persons, comprising two children, 59 men and 25 women were involved in the accident.

Ugboma said the cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained and explained that some witnesses said the bus ran into an ambush laid by armed robbers.

He said the driver was making a U-turn in a bid to escape when the bus plunged into a ditch, leading to the death of some passengers.

The sector commander said corpses and the injured were taken to the Federal Medical Center in Lokoja while investigation has been launched into the accident.