On the night of October 24, 2024, a joyful trip to reunite old friends from Command Secondary School Abakaliki (CSSA) for their 40th anniversary turned into a macabre nightmare when a chartered bus from PKO Transport and Logistics, Yaba, carrying 15 alumni from the Lagos chapter collided with rock debris and caught fire just eight minutes before arriving in their hotel in Ebonyi State.
The tragic accident, which occurred near the G-hostel junction on the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, claimed the lives of seven passengers, five of whom were burnt beyond recognition, and several others suffered severe injuries that will have long-term consequences and trauma in their lives.
Mr. Chuks, the bus driver, reportedly abandoned his 15 passengers trapped inside the bus but later returned to save his phone as the fire continued to engulf the vehicle.
The Incident
One of the injured survivors, Deborah Chinyere, told The Guardian that the event was “ugly.” She recounts that the driver was unfamiliar with the route, so she and a fellow passenger, Victory Onah, used Google Maps to help with directions, but unfortunately, a turn was missed.
“Victory got distracted and forgot to tell the driver to take a left turn that would have led us straight to the hotel, where the event was holding,” Chinyere said.
When the missed turn was communicated to the driver, Chinyere claimed that the driver “flared up and became angry, and he was not concentrating, asking why we had not told him in time,” but despite attempts to reassure the driver that they were still on track and not to panic, Chinyere claimed that the driver was “still angry” and began to “driving recklessly.”
“So that was where the whole thing started. Because of his anger, he couldn’t drive carefully. He started driving so, you know, recklessly.” she stated
“He was just so pissed; I knew this because I was sitting directly at his back so I could read his countenance.”
As the situation went south, Chinyere noted that the driver reportedly accelerated the speed limit to around 120 to 130 kilometres, which led to the bus colliding with road construction debris filled with rocks on the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, an area that reportedly lacked appropriate warning signs about road conditions.
According to Chinyere, the impact ruptured the fuel tank, causing the bus to catch fire almost immediately. “It started with the smoke, and then within some seconds, fire came out from different angles, from the back, from the front, everywhere,” she said.
That fire claimed the lives of five passengers who were burnt beyond recognition at the scene, while two others later succumbed to their injuries at the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki. The tragedy has left several survivors with severe burns, fractures, and emotional scars that will last for years.
Other survivors, who spoke exclusively to The Guardian, recounted traumatic moments of fear, confusion, and disbelief, describing how the bus driver, Mr. Chuks, abandoned them as the vehicle caught fire but later returned only to retrieve his phone, leaving many trapped inside.
d fellow commandos (a term used to refer to graduates from the school).
Dada recalled to The Guardian that the incident was “frightening beyond words” the moment the fire started, as the bus swerved and crashed into the debris. “The driver ran into rocks, and we heard a loud noise. Then, the person behind me shouted, ‘Fire!’ I was terrified,” Dada recalled. “I tried to open the door from my seat, but it wouldn’t budge. That’s when I started calling on the name of Jesus.”
Dada, who was seated behind the driver, said her instinct, which she attributed to God, told her to find her way out through the driver’s side of the bus.
She said, ” I moved towards the driver side of the bus because I noticed there seemed to be a way out from there. Whether I jump out or flew or what, I don’t know. I just landed on the road by the burning bus and my instinct again (which I still say it’s the voice of God) told me to leave the floor or else I’ll get burnt by the fire or the bus exploding. Stood up in pain, not knowing I had already been burnt on my face and right fingers. Stood up and moved away to the other side and saw vividly the extent of the fire, hoping all was safe but unfortunately not.”
Agnes sustained burns to her right ear, face, and fingers but was thankful to be alive. “It’s all by God’s grace. I don’t know how I made it out.”
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