In Abuja’s Mabushi car crash, a family’s escape turned fatal within seconds — a tragedy that has left the city gripped by anger and fear
What began as an encounter with roadside touts spiraled into a deadly crash that has since divided witnesses, officials, and residents over what truly happened.
Some witnesses insist the victims were a man, his wife, and their two children, pursued by suspected agbero who tried to hijack their car near the Berger Roundabout.
In the chaos, one of the touts allegedly jumped into the moving vehicle, grabbing at the steering wheel before the crash.
Outraged residents, eyewitnesses claimed, chased down three of the touts, lynched them, and set them ablaze in a fiery scene of mob justice.
But other accounts tell a different story. Residents interviewed by Daily Trust said the casualties were far fewer — only a couple and one of the touts died, with no mob action involved.
Police sources also pushed back against the viral video suggesting lynching, insisting the injured touts were taken to the National Hospital.
The contradictions did not end there. The Federal Road Safety Corps Sector Commander in the FCT, Felix Theman, maintained that “based on the information I received, no one died at the crash site,” a statement that deepened public confusion rather than clearing it.
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Yet beneath the clashing narratives, one fact is undisputed: the stretch between Mabushi and Bannex has become notorious for the menace of touts.
Commercial drivers describe them as predators who extort motorists at will. “If they catch you, no matter who you are, you must pay or they will take you to their base at Jabi Garage,” said Emmanuel Ezekiel, a driver who plies the route daily.
The Abuja Municipal Area Council also stepped in to clarify that its registered task force was not involved in the incident.
“Presently, our registered task force is undergoing training and not on the road,” said Kingsley Madaki, Senior Special Assistant to the council chairman.
As the dust settles, the bodies of the victims lie in the morgue, their identities yet to be made public.
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria, yet the people’s safety is not even guaranteed.
Behind the statistics are human lives — a family whose journey ended in terror, and a city haunted by the menace of touts and the specter of mob justice.
For many residents, the lingering fear is chilling: if this can happen in the nation’s seat of power, then nowhere feels safe anymore.
Crediblenewsng.
