​Five persons, including four male postgraduate students and a young woman, have died following a violent road crash in Minna involving an official vehicle from the convoy of Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.
​The fatal incident occurred on Monday morning, October 26, 2026, along a major thoroughfare in Minna, the Niger State capital. Governor Bago’s motorcade was returning from a condolence visit paid to the Etsu Nupe and Chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, following the passing of Sagi Nupe, Hajia Aisha.
​According to eyewitness accounts, a government Hilux vehicle attached to the governor’s escort convoy attempted a high-speed, wrongful overtake. The Hilux crossed into the oncoming lane and crashed directly into an oncoming private car driven by a young woman identified as Nafisa. The private sedan was carrying four male postgraduate students from the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna).
​The impact of the head-on collision instantly wrecked the private vehicle. Three occupants of the private car died on the spot, while two additional victims, including the driver of the government Hilux van, succumbed to their severe injuries shortly after.
Among the survivors traveling inside the Hilux van was a former Niger State Local Government Council Chairman, who sustained severe leg fractures and remains under medical care.
​”The people in the private car died instantly, while those in the government Hilux sustained serious injuries, with the driver dying on the spot,” an eyewitness recalled. “The accident was caused by wrongful overtaking by the Hilux in the governor’s convoy. The other car was in its lane when the Hilux rammed into it.”
​First responders and hospital personnel initially rushed all casualties to the Minna General Hospital. Owing to the severity of their injuries, several critically injured victims were subsequently transferred to the IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna for advanced trauma treatment.
​Confirming the tragedy, the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger State, Aishat Sa’adu, stated that emergency response units were deployed immediately to clear the crash site and manage traffic flow.
Authorities have reached out to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ibrahim Bologi, as the state government prepares an official statement regarding the incident.
