A road collision kills at least 21 people in northwestern Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria — At least 21 people were killed in a road collision in Nigeria's northwestern Kano state, officials said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps said a heavy-duty truck and a commercial vehicle carrying passengers collided Sunday along the Zaria-Kano expressway, a major road linking cities in the country’s northern region.

The agency said in a statement its preliminary investigation revealed the commercial vehicle driver “contravened established traffic regulations, drove against traffic flow, resulting in a fatal head-on collision with the oncoming truck."

Only three people survived the crash with injuries, while 19 men and two women were killed, the statement said.

Accidents are common on Nigeria’s major thoroughfares, often resulting in loss of lives. In 2024, 5,421 people were killed across the country in 9,570 incidents, according to the agency's data.