What kept coming to my mind was that he kept coming back to me for more prayers before he left.

Speaking to our reporter in Misau, a parent of one of the deceased, Mallam Haruna Dankasa described the death of the students as tragic.

Dankasa whose son, Mohammed Haruna Ahmed, died said that his son asked him to pray for him when he wanted to leave for the journey and that was the last time he saw his son alive.

He said he was at home because he was not feeling fine when his wife (the boy's mother) called and informed him of the accident.

He added that he immediately called the principal who was then on his way to the scene and had no clear picture of the accident.

“I later called a friend whom I was lucky was at the scene and he confirmed to me that 18 people died on the spot. That was when I know that my son had died.

“When the corpses were brought to Misau Hospital I identified my son but I broke down crying. He had sustained a fracture in his thigh and on the neck.

“As a Muslim, I know that death is inevitable and there is nothing we can do. What kept coming to my mind was that he kept coming back to me for more prayers before he left. I have 11 children, but Mohammed is exceptional. He is the best among them and he loves his other siblings,” he said.

Another parent, Aliyu Salihu, whose daughter, Na'ima Aliyu Salihu, also died said before his daughter left, food was cooked for her which she will eat during the journey.

I later gave her N500 and she thanked me and left. I was later called and informed that she had died in the accident.

“My daughter is very dear to me. I love her so much because she is well behaved. She had just been engaged to Isah about two weeks ago and will be married to him after she finishes school and now she is dead. We thank Allah for whatever he did to us. But it was a great loss,” he said.

Speaking to our reporter later at the school, the school principal, Rabi'u Ahmed Dandalama said that when he was informed about the accident he became devastated.

“I immediately hired a vehicle and head to Gaya where the accident occurred. Before I arrived, the corpses had already been taken to Gaya General Hospital and from there we took them back to Misau for burial.

“The deceased were later taken to the palace for a funeral prayer led by the Chief Imam of Misau, Mallam Usman Mohammed Baba after which they were all buried according to Islamic rites at Misau Central Cemetery,” he said.

He said eyewitnesses informed him that the bus had a head-on collision with the truck while avoiding a pothole on the road and the two vehicles collided leading to the death of the victims.

Our reporter who visited the scene said the crash occurred few kilometers away to Gaya town, and 22 died on the spot while one other passed on shortly after arriving the hospital in Gaya.

Our reporter saw shoes, food flasks and textbooks belonging to the deceased littering the crash scene.

An official of the hospital who sought for anonymity said, the bodies of the deceased were deposited in the hospital at around 11 am while two others among the victims that were brought in to the hospital alive were resuscitated.

He noted that the corpses were released shortly after the incident for onward transfer to the hometown of the deceased.

An eyewitness told Daily Trust that the truck coming from Kano en route Jama’are in Bauchi State, suddenly lost control and rammed into the oncoming vehicle that was coming from Misau.

“It was so horrific. When the truck crushed the bus carrying the students we could not just go closer. It was a gory sight.

“When the police arrived the scene, it was discovered that already 22 have died on the spot while only three were discovered alive. The police evacuated the corpses and rushed those that were still alive to the hospital,” he said.

Two people survived the accident, a teacher and a student who were present on admission at the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Azare.

The student who survived was Alkassim Ibrahim while the teacher is Mallam Inuwa Mohammed.

According to the principal, the students who died were 11 males and nine females while two teachers, male and a female also died.

The teachers who died according to him, we're Mallam Mohammed Mohammed and Aishatu Mohammed Jarwal.

Some students who spoke to our reporter in the school about the death of their colleagues expressed their shock.

Sadiq Bala Mohammed, an SS3 student whose four female members of his class died said that he cannot sleep nor eat since their death. The school has lost some of its best brains, he said.

He said that members of his class who died include Na'ima Aliyu Salihu, Hauwa Mohammed Omo, Fatima Ibrahim and Hajara Garba.

Another SS3 student, Mohammed Abubakar said that three members of his class also died that include Aliyu Mohammed, Abubakar A. Adamu, and Al-Amin A. Liman.

An elder from Misau, Mallam Aliyu Umar Misau who spoke to our reporter on the telephone said that what happened was a national tragedy because losing 23 young lives at a go was very shocking and cannot be forgotten.

“This will forever remain in our memory as long as we live. Misau has really lost invaluable souls who are in their prime with dreams of becoming useful to their society.

“However, this was what Allah wishes, so there is nothing we can do. We are only praying to him to grant the deceased his mercies and console the families and give them and us the fortitude to bear this tragic loss,” he said.

Misau town is in mourning as people are seen trooping to console families who lost their loved ones and people are seen in groups almost everywhere discussing the tragedy.