Deputy Governor Visits 13 Journalists Injured in Bauchi Auto Crash

By BANNERNEWS Reporter
The Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Auwal Jatau Mohammed, on Friday led members of the management and board of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) on a sympathy visit to journalists injured in a fatal road accident.
The deputy governor visited the victims at the Cottage Hospital in Yelwan Duguri, where they were receiving initial medical attention following the crash.
During the visit, Mohammed directed that the injured journalists be immediately transferred to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, for more specialised medical care.
The 13 journalists are from various media organisations. They were involved in the accident while covering the commissioning of projects by the NEDC in Bauchi State.
The accident occurred at Yelwan Duguri when the driver of the vehicle conveying the journalists attempted to overtake a convoy, lost control, veered off the road and somersaulted several times.
The incident happened along the Yashi–Yelwan Duguri Road in Alkaleri Local Government Area, shortly after the delegation led by the Minister of State for Regional Development, Alhaji Uba Maigari Ahmadu, commissioned and handed over a Government Secondary School project in the community.
The victims sustained varying degrees of injuries, including fractures, head injuries and bruises, and were first rushed to the Yelwan Duguri Cottage Hospital for emergency treatment.
Those injured include reporters and cameramen from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), The Guardian, The Nation, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Channels Television, AIT, Arise TV, Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC), Bauchi State Television (BATV), an online media organisation, as well as the driver.
Rescue operations were carried out by security personnel, officials of the NEDC, colleagues and other sympathisers, who assisted in evacuating the victims from the scene.
The vehicle involved was one of those assigned to convey journalists for the coverage, while several mobile phones and journalistic equipment, including cameras, were damaged in the crash.