Cement Trucks Wipe Out 10 Lives, Leave 10 Injured in Bloody Enugu Highway Tragedy

Enugu was thrown into mourning on Wednesday following two separate crashes involving cement-laden trucks on the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, which claimed 10 lives and left 10 others hospitalized.

One of the accidents, which occurred at the Four Corner Junction in Ozalla, wiped out an entire family after their car was crushed beyond recognition. A video of the mangled wreckage, now circulating widely on social media, has triggered outrage and renewed calls for stricter regulation of heavy-duty trucks on Nigerian highways.

The Enugu State Police Command confirmed that the first crash happened around 9 a.m. when a Howo truck belonging to Visco Investment Global and transporting cement from Aba to Abuja collided with a Toyota Corolla attempting to overtake another vehicle. A Foton bus and a Daihatsu Hijet mini bus, both driving one-way, were caught in the collision. The impact sparked a fire that engulfed the Corolla, killing all five occupants, while one passenger in the mini bus also died instantly.

Barely six hours later, around 3 p.m., another tragedy struck on the same expressway when a Sino truck owned by Global Investment, also carrying cement, rammed into a tricycle while driving against traffic. The tricycle and its four occupants were crushed, and all later died in hospital.

Police spokesman DSP Daniel Ndukwe said 10 people injured in both accidents are receiving treatment at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla. The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, described the crashes as avoidable, extended condolences to the bereaved families, and ordered a full investigation by the State Motor Traffic Department.

“Drivers must understand that no journey is worth a single life. Recklessness and disregard for traffic rules are recipes for disaster. As we enter the Ember months, I urge motorists to exercise utmost caution,” Giwa said.