Authorities in Niger are considering administrative penalties—including the potential revocation of operating licenses—against commercial transport companies STM and SONITRAV following a severe head-on collision that killed 22 people and injured 37 others in the country’s Madaoua department.
Among the deceased were 17 soldiers who were traveling after completing their military training. The crash occurred on Friday morning near Doukou Doukou, a few kilometers from the village of Rezi, when an STM passenger bus traveling from Madaoua collided with a SONITRAV bus arriving from Zinder. In response to the fatal accident, Nigerien Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Colonel-Major Abdouramane Amadou, summoned the executive management of both transport companies to the capital city of Niamey on Monday to account for the event.
During the meeting, which included representatives from the Ministry of Transport, the Niger Road Safety Agency (ANISER), and the National Gendarmerie, transport officials presented a video reconstruction analyzing the circumstances surrounding the collision. Minister Amadou condemned the recurring loss of life on national highways as unacceptable, particularly as the government continues to run nationwide road safety campaigns. He emphasized that human error and reckless driving remain primary causes of traffic fatalities and warned that complacency among commercial fleet operators will no longer be tolerated.
Regulatory proceedings are now underway to determine precise liability for the collision. Official sanctions against the company found at fault will range from formal warnings and operational suspensions to full license cancellation, alongside potential criminal proceedings. The Ministry of Transport reiterated that passenger carriers carry a legal obligation to ensure passenger safety, mandate vehicle maintenance standards, and enforce strict rest requirements for long-distance drivers.
AC/Sf/lb/abj/APA