Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, spokesperson for the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) in Ogun, confirmed the incident in a statement on Sunday.
Akinbiyi said the accident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Ome Bridge, Awa, along Ijebu-Ode–Ibadan highway in Ijebu North Local Government Area.
He stated that the lone crash involved a Mitsubishi bus, registration number EJ829-LSR, which was conveying 15 passengers at the time.
According to Akinbiyi, seven male and three female passengers died. Three others were injured, while a toddler and one adult escaped unhurt.
He said preliminary findings indicate that overspeeding and wrongful overtaking led to the accident.
“Eyewitnesses said the driver wrongly overtook another vehicle at high speed and could not regain control after noticing an oncoming vehicle.
“The driver veered off the road, hit an abandoned gravel pile beside the bridge, and plunged the vehicle into the river,” Akinbiyi explained.
He said the deceased were taken to Ijebu-Ode General Hospital’s morgue, while the injured were also being treated at the same facility.
The spokesperson urged motorists to avoid speeding and to refrain from travelling at night, stressing the importance of road safety at all times. (NAN)
