Abuja, Sep 18 (IANS): At least 40 people were killed earlier this week after a bus-truck collision in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's spokesman said.

Dozens of survivors sustained varying degrees of injury from the incident, which occurred in the Saminaka town of Kaduna, during a religious celebration on Sunday, Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesman said in a statement issued on behalf of Tinubu.

The victims were on their way from Kwandari, a town in the north-central state of Plateau when their ill-fated bus collided with a truck, reports Xinhua news agency.

"President Tinubu condoled with the families of the dead and injured and with the governments of Kaduna and Plateau states," the statement said, adding the Nigerian leader had also directed the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) to improve highway monitoring and reduce the number of road accidents nationwide.

At least 63 people were involved in the incident, the FRSC, Nigeria's traffic police, said in a separate statement.

Deadly road accidents are frequently reported in Nigeria, often caused by overloading, bad road conditions, and reckless driving.