A day set aside for celebration turned tragic on Saturday in Bauchi State, as a groom and two of his friends died in a car crash en route to his wedding ceremony.
The incident occurred in the Toro Local Government Area when the groom, identified as Superintendent of Police (SP) Mustapha Garba Gumau, was travelling from Gumau to Magaman-Gumau for his wedding Fatiha scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
Eyewitnesses said the accident happened around 9:00 a.m. near Bargan Tsamiya village when the vehicle conveying the groom and his companions veered off the road and crashed.
The impact of the crash claimed the lives of SP Gumau and two others—Shuaibu Umar and Sulaiman Musa—on the spot, while several other occupants sustained injuries of varying severity.
The incident has cast a pall over the communities of Gumau and Magaman-Gumau, where preparations had been underway for the marriage ceremony. Instead of wedding festivities, the towns are now observing a period of mourning.
At press time, efforts to obtain an official statement from the Bauchi State Police Command proved unsuccessful, as the spokesman, SP Mohammed Wakil, could not be reached.
