The Niger State police command has said 23 people lost their lives when a truck loaded with cows and 45 people skidded off the road and somersaulted into a bush.

The accident occurred at about 5:00 a.m. on the Bokani -Makera Road in Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.

This is according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Adamu Usman, who confirmed the accident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna, on Monday.

Usman said the truck, was coming from Dadin Kowa, in Kebbi State, enroute to Lagos when the incident occurred.

The police boss explained that the bodies of the deceased and the 22 others who sustained various degree of injuries had been taken to the Mokwa General Hospital for post-mortem and treatment respectively.

Usman, who attributed the accident to loss of control by the driver, lamented the failure of drivers to obey traffic rules and regulations.

(With input from agencies)