Over 40 persons are believed to have sustained various degrees of injuries in what almost turned out a disastrous Christmas in Gombe after a seven-seater commercial Sharon bus that lost control rammed into a procession of Christians.
The Christian faithful were on their way to the Government House and the palace of the Emir of Gombe for the usual traditional Christmas homage when the incident occurred.
There was however no loss of life at the scene of the crash which left scores seriously injured and were rushed to different hospitals for medical attention.
An eyewitness account, said the Christians had just finished their Christmas service from their various Churches in Tunfure and gathered for the procession that were followed with songs of praise and drumming in high spirit of joy and happiness.
The eyewitness who was part of the procession but, narrowly escaped, said the vehicle unexpectedly rammed into the crowd from the back of the procession.
The Public Education and Enlightenment Officer of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), of the Gombe State command, Janet Kassa confirmed the crash through WhatsApp chat on her phone number.
Kassa said; “Yes the incidence occurred while the procession was headed to the emirs palace. 29 victims were taking to Specialist Hospital while 12 to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.
“Location of the crash was by Bank of Industry, along Gombe – Tumfure road. There was no death at the time of rescue operations,” she said
Similarly, the Nigeria Police, Gombe State Command through its Public Relations Officer, ASP Buhari Abdullahi, also said; “Today, Wednesday, 25th December 2024 at About 1400hrs, Christian faithful from Tunfure Community, while on processions, escorted by teams of policemen along Bauchi Road, on their way to the Emir’s palace and Government House respectively.
“Suddenly, a Sharon vehicle loaded with bags of rice with registration number and driven by yet to be to-be-identified person, lost control and ran into the procession and injured not less than 22 persons but no life was lost.
“However, the victims were evacuated to the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) for medical attention,” he said.
Abdullahi however, added that the vehicle was burnt down by an angry mob while the driver escaped to an unknown destination.
The police spokesperson said efforts have intensified to locate and get the driver arrested for further investigations.
Abdullahi said that a combined team of police officers led by the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, Gombe Command, and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leadership in the State were fully on the ground and in control of the situation which has been managed.
The police command urged the people of Gombe State to remain calm as the Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Usman has directed the Command to carry out a discreet investigation of the unfortunate incident.
