GUSAU, Nigeria - Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in northern Zamfara State on Monday night said two different accidents involving three vehicles claimed the lives of 23 persons.

Ibrahim Zaki, the state sector commandant of the FRSC told reporters in Gusau, the state capital, that the two accidents occurred at different spots on the road, but took place around the same time.

He said one of the accidents involving a Volkswagen Golf car and a bus, both commercial vehicles.

According to him, the driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the oncoming Volkswagen Golf car, leading to the death of 17 persons, while other passengers sustained various degrees of injuries.

Zaki told reporters that the dead and injured passengers had been ferried to Mafara General Hospital.

The sector commander said the other accident was caused by another bus which ran into the villagers and killed six of them on the spot.

He said the relatives of the deceased had already claimed the bodies and taken them to the village for burial.

Zaki blamed the two accidents on reckless driving which, he said, had become very common on the road where commercial drivers drive their vehicles as if they are competing with one another.