Five people, including four male students and a young woman, have lost their lives in a fatal road crash involving a vehicle in the convoy of Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago in Minna.

The accident occurred on Monday around Gidan Mangoro along the Minna–Bida Road when a Hilux van travelling with the governor’s convoy collided head-on with a Peugeot 206.

The Peugeot was being driven by a woman identified as Mrs Nafisa (also referred to in some reports as Nafisat Abubakar Aguye), who died at the scene. She was said to be an NGO staff member, Programme Manager at Labspace and founder of Wosh Mart Service Ltd.

According to a resident, Abdullahi Musa (also reported in some accounts as Danjuma Umar), the crash happened at about 11:35am while Governor Bago and his team were returning from Bida, where they had paid a condolence visit to the Etsu Nupe and Chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, over the death of Sagi Nupe Hajia Aisha.

The occupants of the private vehicle were suspected to be postgraduate students of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.

Musa said the people in the private car died instantly, while those in the government Hilux sustained serious injuries, with the driver of the Hilux also dying on the spot in some accounts.

He stated that the crash resulted from wrongful overtaking by the convoy vehicle, adding that the Peugeot was on its lane when the Hilux crashed into it.

A staff member of Minna General Hospital said three victims died at the scene, while two others later succumbed to injuries. Some injured victims were reportedly transferred to IBB Specialist Hospital for further treatment.

One occupant of the Hilux, identified as a former Niger State local government council chairman (named in reports as Dauda Chukuba), suffered leg fractures but survived.

FRSC Sector Commander Aishat Sa’adu confirmed the crash, while police spokesperson SP Wasiu Abiodun said the incident was under investigation.