A Federal Fire Service (FFS) spokesperson asked what three brothers, Attahir Yusuf, Tahir Yunus Yusuf and Muhammad Attahir Yusuf, were doing outside at an “odd hour” rather than take responsibility for a head-on collision involving an FFS truck that killed them on Friday.
FIJ gathered that the young men were killed at Annur Mosque Junction, Wuse 2, Abuja.
Maina, a relative of the victims, called for justice on Instagram on Sunday. He said that the fire service truck refused to take responsibility for the brothers’ medical care as they were left abandoned for up to three hours after the accident.
He stated all the hospitals the bystanders called could not provide emergency care, and they found it difficult to get the victims out of the crushed vehicle.
Maina added that the only person in the car who survived the collision was his younger cousin, who was receiving treatment on Sunday morning.
“Three of my brothers passed away last night, and I was the first in my family to find out. On Friday, May 9, 2025, I was casually scrolling through Snapchat when I saw that there had been an accident. The victims were yet to be identified, and all I could do was pray for the victims’ families to be found,” Maina shared.
“And just as I scrolled to the next story, I saw that my cousin’s Instagram page was being posted. The caption read, ‘Please, if you know him, please reach out.’ I was confused and in shock, because I knew the person they posted, he was not the type to get in trouble.
“I rushed to find out what had happened, and they said the person had passed away and that they were looking for the family. In shock, I paused and asked for more details. They said he got into an accident with three other people in the car. The cause of the accident was a hit-and-run; a Nigerian fire truck hit them and left them there for dead.
“They were laid there for three hours, helpless. No ambulance. The Good Samaritans there tried to help them out, but they could only take two people out of the car. The remaining two, who were on the passenger side, were crushed. So the people trying to help were also helpless.
“For three hours, they were helpless. The fire truck, which could have helped them, left them. Hospitals were contacted, but no ambulance came for three hours.
“The only person who survived was my younger cousin, and he is in the hospital right now.
“Please pray for them, and pray that they get justice, as Nigeria has unfortunately failed us again.”
FIJ also found another post on X, stating that two of the men died after they were admitted in a hospital, but only one person survived.
“The devastating accident took place at Annur Junction in Abuja, with eyewitnesses claiming that a Fire Services vehicle was responsible for the fatal collision, which resulted in two deaths shortly after hospital admission, another fatality and one injury,” Usman Zunnurayn wrote.
An audio clip attached captured people speaking in Hausa, and passersby asking about the victim’s identity. Someone else also asked that the passersby clear the road for security operatives.
A video clip of the same incident showed Good Samaritans around the crushed vehicle trying to get the victims out. One of the lifeless victims was also captured in the footage.
The footage from the scene also shows that the incident happened at night.
FIJ called the fire service headquarters in Abuja on Sunday, and Assistant Superintendent of Fire (ASF)1 Adaga confirmed the incident to FIJ. She said that the fire truck could not wait to take care of the men, as it was on its way to rescue victims of a burning building.
She also accused the victims of being out late at odd hours and of failing to call the fire service emergency number.
“The incident happened. We had an emergency that day,” she told FIJ.
“The guys, I don’t know what they were doing at that odd hour.” When FIJ asked what she meant by ‘odd hour’, she said, “Between 10 and 11 pm.”
“The siren was on when the fire truck passed. The driver signalled to other road users, asking them to give way for it to pass.
“After the incident happened, the driver could not wait, as he was on his way to rescue people who were trapped in a building that was on fire. So the truck could not stop and had to go where it was going to.
“I was not on duty when it happened. I resumed duty and heard about the incident.
“The guy that was okay should have called the emergency numbers — even if it was the fire service’s own — we would have come through. We had about five trucks out and could not wait.
“It is a sad experience. We couldn’t have helped it, but we really share our condolences with the family.”