A horrific fire engulfed a commercial Hummer bus in Gwaram, Jigawa State, on February 22, 2025, leaving four passengers—including three children—burnt beyond recognition and 10 others injured. The tragedy, which unfolded at about 4:00 p.m. near Government Girls Unity Secondary School, has cast a grim spotlight on the perils of overloading and lax safety enforcement on Nigeria’s highways.
Truth Live News reports that security and emergency sources briefed Zagazola Makama, revealing that the white Hummer bus, registered as ZAK 382 XA, was ferrying 44 passengers—25 adults and 19 children—from Zaki LGA in Bauchi State to Rabadi Village when disaster struck. Driven by 40-year-old Dalha Saleh of Galdimari Quarters, Saldigal Village, the vehicle’s exhaust system sparked the blaze. “The fire broke out from the vehicle’s exhaust system,” sources explained, noting that a mattress tied to the bus’s rear ignited from exhaust sparks, rapidly turning the overcrowded transport into an inferno.
The four victims, all hailing from Saldigal Village, were identified as Ziwaira Hassan, Fatima Hassan, Iyatale Hassan, and 10-year-old Halima Muhammad. Their charred remains, sources confirmed, “would be released to their families for burial after medical examination.” Meanwhile, 10 other passengers suffered burns of varying severity and were rushed to Gwaram Cottage Hospital for urgent care. The remaining occupants escaped unscathed, though shaken by the ordeal.
The incident underscores a deeper crisis plaguing the region’s roads. “Reckless overloading of commercial vehicles, particularly those transporting goods from Kano to Maiduguri, has become a serious safety and security concern,” Makama reported, drawing from firsthand observations. Buses and vans, designed for passengers, are routinely packed with cargo meant for trailers, transforming them into “moving hazards on already dangerous highways.” The ill-fated Hummer, laden with both people and goods, exemplifies this deadly trend.
Sources painted a damning picture of systemic failure at checkpoints meant to curb such risks. “Despite the presence of numerous security and road safety checkpoints, many of these vehicles pass through unchecked not because they meet safety standards, but because they pay their way through,” they told Makama. Drivers often travel at night to dodge stricter inspections by KAROTA in Kano-Jigawa, resting in Potiskum before resuming in the early hours when enforcement wanes. “During that time, those responsible for enforcing compliance will all be out to collect bribes. No single vehicle will be stopped for any checks,” the sources lamented, exposing a culture of corruption that prioritizes profit over lives.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), police, and other agencies have struggled to stem this tide. “While FRSC officers are stationed at multiple checkpoints, many prefer to look the other way rather than enforcement of the regulations,” Makama noted, highlighting a lapse that allows overloaded vehicles to degrade roads and bridges, amplifying hazards and repair costs. The Gwaram tragedy, claiming young lives and scarring others, stands as a stark testament to the human toll of this negligence. As families mourn and survivors heal, calls for accountability echo across Jigawa, urging a reckoning for a system that failed to protect its most vulnerable travelers.