Road Accidents Claim 138 Lives In 10 Months In Kwara

Road accidents have claimed 138 lives in Kwara State in the last 10 months.

The sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state, Mufutau Irekeola, disclosed this yesterday in Ilorin during a town hall meeting organised by the command to sensitise transport union members ahead of the Ember months road safety campaign.

Irekeola said the accidents at various locations in the state occurred between January and October 2025.

The sensitisation campaign held at the secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Airport area, Ilorin had in attendance representatives of the transport unions, firefighters and representatives of the NDLEA, the traffic management agency, police, traditional rulers, NOA, NSCDC, Immigration, Correctional Services, and other stakeholders.

The sector commander said road safety is the collective responsibility of all road users, adding that, “The leading cause of RTs Worldwide including Nigeria is over-speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, failure to obey traffic rules, and poor road conditions.

“It is in view of the above that the Corps’ theme for this year’s campaign is tagged ‘Take Responsibility For Your Safety: Stop Distracting Driving.’

“It may interest you to note regrettably that between January – October 2025, a total no of 247 road traffic crashes (RTCs) were recorded in Kwara State having 933 injured, and 138 killed out of 1,901 persons involved. From these crashes, 383 vehicles were involved, including 45 transport union vehicles that claimed a total of 37 lives.

“The most prevalent cause of these crashes was failure to adhere to road traffic rules and regulations, wrongful overtaking, speed limit violation, and road rage while the most dangerous routes are Ilorin-Ogbomoso, Okoolowo-Oloru, and Bode-Saadu-Jebba,” Irekeola stated.

He however informed the participants that as part of FRSC’s commitment to achieving the desired outcome of the 2025 end-of-year campaign, the command has mapped out some strategies to include deployment of FRSC personnel and special marshals across major highways and crash-prone corridors state-wide.

In their reactions, the state chairman of RTEAN, AbdulRahman Onikijiap, and his NURTW counterpart, AbdulRazaq Ariwoola, expressed appreciation to the FRSC and other participating stakeholders for organising the programme.

They urged drivers to take caution and heed the warnings of the sensitisation campaign in the interest of their safety and that of the passengers.