Sultan of Sokoto's son Usman in critical state after crashing his Lexus while driving at high speed

SULTAN of Sokoto's son Usman Sa’ad Abubakar is in a critical condition in hospital after being involved in a ghastly car crash yesterday along the Sokoto Airport Road that saw his Lexus saloon car totally written off.

Usman, the sultan's eldest son, popularly called Amir, was said to be driving at high speed around 12 noon in an area called Bado, when the accident happened. With Usman in the car were Khalifa Maccido, son of Aliyu Macciddo, and a girl and they were reported to be travelling at about 200km an hour.

Named after the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate Usman Dan Fodio, Usman, whose nickname means leader, was reportedly unconscious yesterday evening. After the accident, he and his passengers were rushed to the Usman Danfodio Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, while officials of the Sultanate Council removed its official number plates from the car.

Amir, believed to have been dismissed from a UK school due to his drunkenness, was seen earlier on Sunday leaving a guesthouse with the girl and his friend Khalifa. Witnesses at the scene of the crash said Amir had been drunk while driving and that a bottle of Benelyn Codeine syrup was found in the car.