Four people have been confirmed dead after a container fell off a moving trailer and crushed a commercial tricycle, commonly known as Keke NAPEP, along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway in Kaduna. The tragic incident occurred on Monday evening, April 20, 2026, near the busy bypass, plunging the area into chaos as residents and passersby rushed to the scene.
Eyewitness Accounts
Eyewitnesses reported that the container detached from the moving trailer and landed directly on the tricycle, instantly killing the rider and his three passengers. A resident of Dan Mani, who identified himself only as Abubakar and witnessed the incident, described the scene as horrific. He stated that it took hours to recover the victims from beneath the heavy container.
“It was a terrible accident to see how people were crushed to death,” he said. “People were crying and helpless as we tried to rescue them.” He added that residents struggled for hours to lift the container and retrieve the bodies, as emergency responders were not immediately available. “The container remained on them for a long time. It was a painful sight,” he lamented.
Call for Government Intervention
Reacting to the development, a concerned resident named Muhammad Suraj wrote an open letter to Governor Uba Sani, describing the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway as a “danger zone” due to frequent accidents involving trailers. “I write to you today with a heart weighed down by grief and deep concern as a citizen who can no longer remain silent in the face of repeated tragedy,” he said. “Just moments ago, another devastating incident occurred. A fallen container crushed a Keke NAPEP carrying four innocent people. All four lives were lost instantly.”
Suraj lamented that such incidents had become a recurring pattern, accusing trailer drivers of reckless driving even during peak hours. He urged the state government to urgently intervene by restricting the movement of heavy-duty vehicles to late-night hours and enforcing strict traffic regulations on the axis.
Official Confirmation
The State Public Relations Officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Garba Usman, confirmed the accident but declined to comment on the casualty figures.
