The Federal Road Safety Corps in Yobe State has dismissed an online report claiming that 120 people died in crashes along the Damaturu–Buni Yadi road in 2025, describing the publication as misleading and not grounded in official records.

In a statement issued by the Yobe Sector Command, the Corps said the report falsely attributed both the casualty figures and specific comments to the Sector Commander, Corps Commander Andrew Paul Longkam.

The Command clarified that Longkam did not grant any interview to the reporter cited in the story and did not supply the figures that were published. It stressed that the alleged 120 deaths on the Damaturu–Buni Yadi corridor were never part of its verified data.

According to the statement, the only authorised 2025 crash figures for Yobe were those presented during the Command’s end-of-year press briefing, where comprehensive statewide statistics were released to journalists.

Those figures show that while the total number of road traffic crashes in Yobe fell by 26 per cent, from 158 cases in 2024 to 117 in 2025, the number of deaths unfortunately rose. Fatalities increased from 78 in 2024 to 115 in 2025, and injuries climbed from 867 to 926 over the same period.

The Command further disclosed that the total number of people involved in crashes increased from 1,549 in 2024 to 1,664 in 2025. Of these, 623 persons were rescued without injury in 2025, up from 604 the previous year.

On enforcement, the Yobe FRSC reported that 13,538 traffic offenders were arrested and sanctioned across the state in 2025, reflecting what it described as intensified efforts to curb dangerous driving behaviours.

While acknowledging persistent infrastructure and safety challenges on several routes, including the Damaturu–Buni Yadi axis, the Command insisted that it was wrong for any platform to attribute unverified casualty figures to the Corps or to suggest that such numbers had been endorsed by the Sector Commander.

The statement reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to data-driven interventions aligned with the FRSC’s 2026 Corporate Strategic Goals, which target a 10 per cent reduction in road traffic crashes nationwide through stricter enforcement, wider public education, and closer collaboration with stakeholders.

The Yobe Sector Command urged the outlet responsible for the disputed report to correct its story in the interest of public accountability, and reiterated that accurate information is essential to effective road safety management.