Tragedy struck in the early hours of Thursday, December 11, 2025, when at least eight students of the University of Jos, UNIJOS, Plateau State, were killed after a trailer lost control and collided with a bus conveying them from a night outing on Zaria Road in the Jos metropolis.
According to eyewitnesses, in addition to the eight students who died on the spot, the bus driver also lost his life, while two students who survived the accident were rushed to a nearby hospital.
The students were reportedly returning from a night outing around 2 am in two hired buses when, in the Zaria Road Stadium area, a trailer travelling at high speed apparently suffered brake failure and rammed into one of the buses. The impact caused the bus driver to lose control, sending the vehicle crashing into an electric pole just before the Farin Gada bridge.
A survivor recounted: “The collision tore the bus apart, killing eight occupants instantly before emergency responders later arrived to evacuate the bodies and rushed the two to a nearby hospital.
“We were sitting at the back, so the force didn’t hit us as badly. Immediately, the trailer struck us, and the bus started shaking. Before anyone could react, we hit the electric pole. The whole bus just broke apart.
“We were heading home after a night out in two buses around 2am when the tragic incident happened. It was so sudden. We didn’t even see the trailer. After the hit, everyone was shouting, then the crash happened.”
The Plateau State Police spokesman, DSP Alabo Alfred, was not immediately available to confirm the incident, but a senior police officer told Bellnews a manhunt has been launched for the trailer driver who fled the scene following the accident.