The state of bad roads and poor road maintenance culture have led to the death of at least 19,333 Nigerians in a period of three years and three months starting from the second quarter of 2020, THE WHISTLER can report.
An investigation conducted by THE WHISTLER revealed that from the second quarter of 2020 to the first half of 2023, at least 19,333 people died from accidents on the Nigerian road.
Although, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), drivers and experts had blamed bad roads as a key reason, there are other factors named by the NBS which include: Speed Violation, use of a phone while driving, mechanical deficient vehicle, wrongful overtaking, brake failure, sleeping on steering and driving under alcohol and poor weather among others.
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During the period, 40,660 vehicle accidents occurred across Nigerian roads between the second quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2023.
The number of persons that died from the accidents during the period was almost half, or 47.5 per cent of the 40,660 accidents confirmed by the Nigerian government.
In 2020, THE WHISTLER found that at least 3,849 people died on Nigerian roads as a result of accidents. In fact, during the period, 8,277 accidents were recorded as a result of bad roads.
The situation worsened in 2021 when the number of accidents rose to 13,027 in 12 months. The number of people thag died almost doubled to 6,178, making the safety of road travellers and commuters to be in doubt.
THE WHISTLER also found that the situation did not abate in 2022 as the level of accidents rose to 13,656, thereby leading to the death of 6,456 road transport users in Nigeria.
The risk of plying Nigerian roads still lingers as 5,700 accidents have been recorded in the first six months of 2023, which resulted in the death of 2,850 road users across the country.