Nigerian army speaks on report its checkpoint caused fatal road crash in Enugu

The Nigerian army has reacted to a report that its checkpoint caused a fatal road accident in Enugu State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that many passengers were feared killed in the road crash, which occurred at about 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday along Ninth Mile-Ugwu Onyeama Road in the state.

The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Enugu State, Adeyemi Sokunbi, told PREMIUM TIMES earlier on Wednesday that two male passengers died in the crash while 10 others – eight males and two females – were injured.

But the FRSC spokesperson, Olusegun Ogungbemide, in a statement later Wednesday in Abuja, said four passengers were later confirmed dead in the crash while 25 others were rescued.

Seven vehicles were involved in the road accident, and a report suggested that an army checkpoint along the area was responsible for the crash.

Army reacts

But reacting in a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Jonah Unuakhalu, refuted the report.

Mr Unuakhalu, a lieutenant colonel, said the Nigerian army does not have any checkpoint at the accident scene except a location/base by the roadside, which was erected to curb frequent kidnap attacks in the area.

The spokesperson recalled that the road was opened in the first quarter of 2024 after being rehabilitated in December last year.

“Since then, the troops only have a base and the barriers used for the checkpoint were removed,” he said.

He argued that the section of the road had remained “problematic” since the 1990s due to the “steep gradient of the road” even before and after the army checkpoints were removed.

“The accident that occurred yesterday happened about 300m ahead of the soldiers’ base.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident occurred due to a brake failure of a trailer coming down a slope from Ninth Mile Axis.

“The trailer rammed into other incoming vehicles from Enugu and not those coming from the same Axis of Ninth Mile with it,” Mr Unuakhalu said.

“Hence, the crash was a head-on and not a rear collision. Thus, the soldiers never stopped any vehicle on the road for any checking but served as a responder to the accident.”