ABUJA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed and 70 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a series of road accidents across different regions of Nigeria during the Christmas season, the traffic police said on Tuesday.

The accidents occurred on major highways as families and friends traveled to celebrate the holiday. Local authorities attributed the crashes to a combination of factors, including high traffic volumes, poor road conditions, and, in some cases, reckless driving.

At least four people were killed and 59 others injured early Tuesday when a truck overloaded with passengers and goods lost control along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, a critical corridor linking the northern and southern parts of the country, Kabir Nadabo, a commander for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the northwestern state of Kaduna, told reporters.

Nadabo said the vehicle ran into a ditch, adding that an investigation by the traffic police identified "overloading and fatigue" as the causes of the incident.

The FRSC said two people were also killed and six others injured in another lone accident involving a minibus along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway early Tuesday.

While attributing the incident to overspeeding and loss of control, the FRSC said the driver crashed the vehicle into a road barrier.

In the southwestern state of Osun, at least nine people were killed and five others injured in a lone accident along the Ikirun-Ilaodo highway on Monday night, the FRSC said.

The driver of the minibus, loaded with goods and passengers, drove dangerously and lost control while "speeding excessively," the traffic police said in a statement, warning motorists against violating road safety regulations and other road users, especially commuters, to always caution commercial vehicle drivers against speeding. Enditem

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