Fourteen people were killed on Saturday when a bus collided with a petrol tanker in central Nigerian Niger state, a road safety official told AFP on Sunday.

The passenger bus rammed into the on-coming petrol tanker as the driver tried to overtake another bus outside Kusobogi village, 80 km from the state capital Minna, Kumar Tsukwan, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger state, said.

“Fourteen people died in the head-on collision while six others were injured and taken to hospital for medical attention,” Tsukwan said.

He blamed “speeding and wrongful overtaking” by the bus driver for the accident.

The bus was heading to the northern city of Kaduna from the Nigerian economic capital Lagos, Tsukwan said.

Road accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard for traffic rules.

Last week, 23 people died when a truck laden with goods and passengers overturned in the northern city of Kano.

Last year Nigeria recorded 9,570 road accidents which resulted in 5,421 deaths, according to FRSC data.