A survivor of the terrible crash that claimed the lives of 22 athletes from Kano State has shared her painful memories of what led to the tragedy. The athletes were returning from the Gateway Games 2024 held in Abeokuta when the accident happened.
Dorothy Okwuzuluike, one of the few who made it out alive, gave her account while lying on a hospital bed, her leg wrapped in thick bandages. She said the journey had been a nightmare even before the crash.
“All I can remember is like the driver lost control after the bus brake failed,” she said. “The only thing I can remember was that I held onto the seat in front of me firmly. The next thing was that I found myself at the hospital.”
Dorothy explained that the journey to and from Abeokuta took four days in total — two days each way. According to her, the bus had several mechanical problems even before the crash.
“The vehicle was not sound, as it was always breaking down along the way. It would break down, we will stop, they will effect repair. After another few kilometres, it would break down again. They would carry out repair, and we would move again. It was a horrifying experience,” she said.
Another voice from the Kano State contingent, Ibrahim Umar Fagge, gave more details about what happened before and during the tragic journey.
He noted that the athletes were returning in groups as their events ended, and most of the participants had already gone home. The crash involved the last bus that was still on the road.
“During the festival, we were reducing our athletes as events were taking place. As your event end, you leave for home. So majority of our athletes had returned home before the final day. Only that bus that was remaining,” he said.
Fagge added that the bus had already been in one accident earlier in Lokoja and continued to Abuja where they rested for the night.
“We were together with them. The bus had accident in Lokoja, and they managed it to Abuja, where we spent the night. This (Saturday) morning, they started their journey from Abuja to Kano. At about 10 a.m., I spoke with about six of them. Then I got a report that our bus had accident at Chirowama.”
