Christmas celebration in Gombe turned tragic as a commercial bus rammed into celebrants, injuring no fewer than 40 persons who were processing to the Government House and Emir’s palace to pay homage.
The police confirmed that the accident happened in the Tumfure, a growing city inside Gombe.
According to Buhari Abdullahi, the spokesperson for Gombe State police, about 22 people sustained various degrees of injuries and are currently receiving medical attention at the Federal Teaching Hospital and Specialist Hospital, meanwhile, no fatality was recorded.
“Christians from Tumfure, while on a procession escorted by a team of policemen, were on their way to the Emir’s Palace and Government House. Suddenly, a Sharon bus loaded with bags of rice and driven by a yet-to-be-identified person lost control and rammed into the procession. The incident led to 22 persons being injured but no loss of life,” he stated.
However, one of the eyewitnesses, Mr Kachalla, a member of the Boys’ Brigade in Gombe alleged that the number of casualties outweighs what the police had reported, he claimed that over 40 persons were injured at the scene as the Sharon bus drove through the procession of the Christmas celebrants.
He said, “I have confirmed that 40 persons were injured and receiving treatment – 12 in FTH and 28 here at the Specialist Hospital. This procession has been going on for years and for the first time, we are encountering such an incident.
“I don’t know what happened, whether the driver lost control, but he chose to hit the people on procession instead of the vehicles before him.” Checks at the two hospitals showed that there were 40 casualties.
The state’s police commissioner has launched an investigation to probe the cause of the accident. Meanwhile, Governor Inuwa Yahaya sympathised with the victims of the accident and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), pledging to cover medical expenses and also urging the aggrieved youth to be calm while the police carry out the investigations.
