No fewer than 88 persons were killed in 112 road traffic crashes between January and December this year in Sokoto State.
The Sokoto State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Alhaji Aliyu Bawa, made the disclosure at the 2011 Ember Month Campaign on Friday in Bodinga Town in the Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Bawa said that 377 persons were injured in the crashes, adding that 31 per cent of the accidents were recorded on the Sokoto-Jega highway, near Bodinga Town.
He said that ember months were noted for high vehicular movements because of festivities, noting: “we should avoid anything that will endanger our lives and other road users as we ply the roads.“
The Zonal Commander of? the FRSC, Mr Bulus Darwang, attributed most of the accidents in the zone, comprising Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States to over-loading, over-speeding and route violation, among others.
Darwang said that the commission would work hard to make the roads safer during and after the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The Chairman of Bodinga Local Government Council, Alhaji Shehu Badau, commended the commission for choosing the area for the campaign, promising to do everything humanly possible to sanitise the highways.