Nigeria bus crash kills at least 20

Police and an official have stated that at least 20 passengers burned to death when a bus crashed with another vehicle and caught fire in southwest Nigeria. 

The accident in the Ibarapa area of Oyo state on Friday is the latest road crash in the west African nation of 210 million people, with the Chair of Ibarapa district, Gbenga Obalowo, commenting that “it was a fatal accident. We counted more than 20 human bodies burnt completely". 

He added: “They had a head-on collision and the two vehicles … which were both conveying passengers, caught fire and got burnt beyond repair", concluding that two people “with severe burns” survived and have been admitted to the hospital.

Obalowo blamed the crash on speeding and reckless driving - accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly structured roads owing largely to speeding alongside disregard for traffic rules. 

30 people were burned to death in July when three vehicles collided on a highway in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, adding to Nigeria's recorded 10,637 road accidents last year, after having claimed 5,101 lives and injured more than 30,000 people, according to statistics by the road safety commission.