Six Dead, Five Injured in Multiple-Vehicle Crash in Anambra

Six unidentified individuals were killed in a multiple fatal road crash near the Green Energy Oil and Gas Station by Eke Awgbu on the Agulu-Awgbu Road in Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State. The incident, which occurred around 10 am on Tuesday, involved 11 people and three vehicles, including a motorcycle, according to NIGERIA NEWS 247.

Eyewitnesses reported that nine men and two women were involved in the crash. Five men and one woman sustained injuries, while four men and two women died. One witness, speaking anonymously, said the crash occurred when a speeding truck experienced brake failure, lost control, and collided with other vehicles at a checkpoint.

Other witnesses attributed the crash to a checkpoint set up by security operatives and state revenue agents, where vehicles were stopped and money was demanded. An anonymous source said, “Some revenue agents and security operatives stopped some vehicles and were demanding money; then a truck with brake failure rammed into the waiting vehicles at the checkpoint.”

Margaret Onabe, the acting Sector Public Education Officer for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State, confirmed the incident. Onabe stated that passers-by had taken the injured victims to the Referral Health Centre, Awgbu, and the deceased to St. Joseph’s Mortuary in Adazi Ani before the FRSC rescue team arrived.

She detailed that the crash involved a commercial Howo truck from BUA Cement, a commercial TVS/Tricycle, a commercial QLINK motorcycle, and a private Honda motorcycle. The likely cause was excessive speed and brake failure. Onabe added that eleven people were involved, with seven sustaining injuries and four men and one woman dying initially. Subsequent medical evaluations confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total to six.

The FRSC rescue team managed the scene, clearing the obstruction and visiting Referral Hospital, Awgbu, where some injured victims were transferred to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka, and Regina Hospital Awka. One female adult died upon the rescue team’s arrival, and one male adult was later confirmed dead at Referral Hospital Awgbu.

FRSC Sector Commander Anambra State, Corps Commander Adeoye Irelewuyi, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and urged motorists to maintain safe speeds. “Kill the speed now before it kills you,” he advised.

Meanwhile, the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service denied claims that their agents caused the crash, attributing it instead to the truck driver’s failure to control the vehicle after brake failure on a slope. Additionally, one person was injured in a separate accident on the Awka-Enugu Expressway involving a Mack truck, also due to brake failure.