Two hundred and seventy eight road users were killed in accidents in Edo, Delta and Anambra States in the first three quarters of this year, according to the Zone Rs 5 Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The Commanding Officer of the zone, Mr Kehinde Adeleye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin that 1,492 people were injured in the accidents whose number he put at 492.
One hundred and fifty seven cases were recorded as fatal, 283 as serious and 52 as minor.
The officer said that the zone had put machinery in motion to ensure a drastic reduction of road traffic crashes in the zone in the remaining months of this year.
He said the command would be collaborating with other agencies the ‘ember months’ to curb road traffic crashes drastically.
The collaboration, according to him, will entail joint deployment of personnel and logistics to ensure that the roads were safe for motorists and other road users, especially in accident-prone areas on the highways.
Adeleye said that the command had sought the intervention of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and the Federal Ministry of Works to fix bad spots on the highways.
He said the command had also been talking with governors in the three states, to repair failed portions of roads to prevent accidents.