By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
GOMBE, NIGERIA (Worthy News) – A branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the umbrella group of major denominations, has urged calm after a truck crashed into an Easter procession of pilgrims, killing at least five people and injuring numerous others.
CAN, in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Gombe, said the incident occurred when Christians returned from a mountain they climbed to symbolize a gathering of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible.
The group’s Gombe Chairman, Reverend Joseph Shinga, mourned the deaths but stressed: “I urge for calm; we need the public to be patient as we understand the situation. We can’t be hasty in our conclusion.”
His remarks came amid reports that the fatal accident triggered riots as aggrieved youth in the area reacted violently by burning the truck with the goods it was carrying.
Witnesses also said that protesters attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters in the area and injured several officers on duty by hurling stones and other objects to vent their anger over the incident.
Local authorities confirmed that five persons, including two men and three women, died in the crash involving a truck on the Billiri-Gombe Road in Gombe State.
The victims were reportedly among more than 20 Christians suffering the impact of the crash. Besides those killed, 10 female adults and three male adults sustained fractures and open wounds, officials said. Other reports said 21 people had been injured.
BODIES TRANSPORTED
The bodies of the deceased were taken to the General Hospital in Billiri, while the injured victims were rushed to several hospitals in the area, according to authorities.
Investigators said the truck was transporting grains from Adamawa State to Gombe State when it lost control due to brake failure while approaching a gathering of Christian faithful preparing to celebrate Easter Monday in Billiri town.
The truck driver was detained, police said. There were no reports that terrorism could have been a cause of the crash.
The spokesperson of the Gombe State Police Command, Buhari Abdullahi, said that the crash created tension in Billiri, “but with the quick intervention of security personnel,” the situation was brought “under control.”
“For now, everything is calm, and motorists are plying the route, and there is no cause for panic,” he added.
Monday’s crash wasn’t an isolated incident. Local media recalled that during the last Christmas celebration in Gombe State’s capital, also named Gombe, a passenger bus lost control, hitting Christian youths and injuring some 22 persons.
It comes amid broader tensions in Nigeria, where thousands of Christians are known to have been killed and kidnapped by a variety of mainly Muslim groups in recent years.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Britain, France, and Germany blamed Israel for the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and demanded that Israel lift “restrictions” on aid.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have met briefly in Istanbul, Turkey, for the latest round of talks aimed at ending Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. The session was overshadowed by renewed fighting between the two countries, killing at least three and injuring more than 30 others.
French President Emmanuel Macron sparked a diplomatic firestorm Thursday by announcing that France will formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this September.
After nearly three weeks of intensive U.S.- and Qatari-mediated negotiations with Hamas in Doha, both Israel and the United States have recalled their negotiating teams, citing a lack of genuine progress and deep-rooted ideological obstacles from the terror group that continue to stall a potential deal.
Despite weeks of vocal demands for transparency surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case, Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a Republican-led resolution that would have unsealed all court documents related to the late sex offender and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
A disturbing wave of antisemitic incidents has erupted across Europe in recent weeks, targeting Israeli tourists and Jewish communities with increasing frequency and violence. From Greece to Germany, Switzerland to Belgium, attacks, threats, and legal actions against Israelis are raising alarms among Jewish leaders and government officials alike.
Hours after ceasefire negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations broke down once again in Istanbul, both sides launched punishing strikes on each other’s resort cities along the Black Sea, escalating a war now deep into its fourth year.