Eight members of one family were killed in a terrible accident on the Kaduna-Zaria highway Monday night, and two others are desperately battling for their lives in the hospital.
Pedestrians waiting at the side of the road were struck by a speeding car that lost control, according to the information received.
The tragic event was understood to have occurred during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations at approximately 6 p.m. in the Barakallahu neighborhood along the Kaduna-Zaria route.
Those impacted were women and children who had congregated by the side of the road after spending the holiday at their grandmother’s house.
According to reports, a young lad from the Rigachikun neighborhood was driving the ash-colored Mercedes GLK Jeep that was involved in the crash. He reportedly ran away from the site right away.
The boy’s father is thought to be a prominent member of the community’s political elite.
Malam Jamilu Usman Mai Yadi, a distraught husband and father who lives in Sabon Gari, Tudun Wada, told Daily Trust, “We lost eight members of our family that evening.”
Sadiq, 16, Muhammad, 9, their aunt, their younger and older sisters, and my wife, Khadija Umar, all passed away. My family was hit by 10 people in total; two are still in the hospital and eight have perished.
He said the victims were waiting by the side of the road, trying to get a lift home, when the car abruptly turned off the road and crashed into them.
The fact that my wife’s leg was irreparably damaged suggests that the driver was speeding. Only afterward did road safety personnel return Sadiq’s body to us,” Mai Yadi wrote angrily.
Eight months pregnant with twins, Zainab Muhammad was one of the dead.
Sulaiman Abdulkadir Mai Shinkafa, her husband and a preacher from Hayin Rigasa, described the accident’s aftermath in graphic detail.
Her due date was quickly approaching. Everything for the baby was prepared. The unborn twins were even given the names Hassan and Hussaini. Khalid, who is six years old, was also struck.
“Her body was crushed.” There were broken bones in my son. Prior to burial, their remains had to be collected using boards. “No family should ever witness it,” the grieving father told reporters.
As with other bereaved family members, Mai Shinkafa expressed profound disappointment at what they characterized as communal and governmental negligence.
Nobody has come to offer their condolences to us from the Kaduna State administration or the boy’s family, whose father was a well-known politician in the neighborhood. Not a word at all,” he bemoaned.
“Not even the driver’s father showed up. It’s as if our existence is unimportant.
The FRSC Verifies the Event
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the sad accident was caused by overspeeding and a lack of control on a road that was wet with rain.
Tijjani Iliyasu, the sector commander of the Kaduna Road Safety Corps (FRSC), described the response in detail, saying, “The driver lost control of the car. Along with the heavy rain, the road was slick. He was speeding, according to our evaluation, and collided with onlookers.
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Six people immediately passed away. The injured were saved right away, and we hurried them to the hospital. The driver and other passengers had already left the car by the time we got there. They abandoned the car when it was still dark. We are unsure of the precise driver.
The Nigerian Police have been tasked with looking into the matter further, he added.
“The police have been given the car as of right now, and they ought to be able to find the owner,” Iliyasu said.
“Our goal at the scene was to save lives, and we succeeded in doing so.”
Police, Government Mom in Kaduna
According to information obtained, as of the time this story was filed, the Nigeria Police Force’s Kaduna State leadership has not commented on the matter.
Several attempts to reach DSP Mansir Hassan, the Police Public Relations Officer, were fruitless, according to the media, because his phone line was down when this article was being written.
Additionally, since the disaster occurred on Monday, the state government has not issued a public comment.
In solidarity with the bereaved families, community members are calling for swift justice and government intervention.
Community leader and Barakallahu resident Imam Rabiu prayed to Allah for the pardon of those killed in the incident.
The incident broke the community as a whole. Because eight family members died in one tragic tragedy, the entire village was silent that night. “May Allah pardon them,” Rabiu said.
Adam, a Barakallahu local, likewise called the experience agonizing and horrible.
He merely stated, “Many lives were lost, so it was a terrible incident.”
According to Mai Yadi, the family is left to grieve in silence in the meanwhile.
“We have laid our dear ones to rest. Our prayers have been voiced. However, the ache is still there. “We should at least expect those in authority and those in charge to show empathy,” he remarked.
