Petrol Tanker Crushes Vehicles Near UniAbuja Gate, Many Feared Dead

An unconfirmed number of students and other pedestrians were feared dead on Monday after a petrol tanker reportedly suffered brake failure and rammed into several vehicles near the main gate of the University of Abuja.

The crash occurred at about 2:40 p.m. beneath the pedestrian bridge along the Giri axis leading to the university.

A video seen by THE WHISTLER showed the aftermath of the crash, with at least six vehicles extensively damaged. An ambulance was seen leaving the scene as bystanders gathered around the wreckage.

Although the casualty figure could not be independently verified as of the time of filing this report, eyewitnesses said the tanker struck several students and other pedestrians.

An eyewitness and University of Abuja student, who identified herself as Opuruiche Ngozi, told THE WHISTLER the tanker appeared to have lost its brakes before ploughing into vehicles and people.

“I wanted to enter a cab when I suddenly saw the trailer coming at high speed. It looked like it had lost its brakes. Everybody just started running.

“It affected many cars. I don’t know whether the people inside those cars survived, but many students died because many people were just coming down from cabs,” she said.

According to her, the accident happened as students were arriving on campus to sit for their examinations.

“People were going to write their exams. The main examination started today, although GST examinations had started last week. Students had exams in the morning, afternoon and evening,” she said.

Ngozi, who had just finished her own examination before the crash, said she narrowly escaped.

“My exam ended around 2:30 p.m. I had just finished when it happened,” she said.

She also urged students to use the pedestrian bridge despite her own reservations about it.

“Use that bridge. I don’t even like using the bridge because it scares me, but people should use it. God will continue to save us,” she added.

As of the time of filing this report, emergency responders had yet to officially confirm the number of people killed or injured.

Efforts by THE WHISTLER to get official response from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were unsuccessful.

Calls placed to the National Public Education Officer, Olusegun Ogungbemide, were not answered.