KANO: Seventy-six people lost their lives in road accidents in northern and central Nigeria at the weekend, road safety officials said Monday.

In one such accident on Saturday, a vehicle carrying bags of cement crushed and killed at least 55 people when the driver lost control and ran into a crowd on a road in Dekina, in central Nigeria's Kogi state.

In the north, 12 people were burned to death when the two vehicles they were travelling in collided and burst into flames at Sabongida-Tasharanda in Bauchi State, an official of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) told AFP.

"All the 12 people in the two cars were burnt beyond recognition and their charred remains have been deposited at the Bauchi Specialist Hospital", he said.

A separate crash in neighbouring Gombe State killed nine people and injured five others on the same day, state FRSC commander Umar Ibrahim told AFP.

He said the accident occurred as a result of a head-on collision between a commuter bus and a car at Lafiyawo village.

Accidents on Nigeria's poorly maintained inter-city roads are common.