Spokesperson Bisi Kazeem said the crash happened around 5:00 a.m. on Friday and that the number of fatalities may vary.

"There was a head-on collision that resulted in fire," Kazeem told Reuters. "Efforts are ongoing to remove the charred bodies as well as the crashed vehicles."

Nigeria is facing fuel shortages caused by imports of sub-standard petrol. This has angered motorists, who have been spending hours in lines to fill their tanks while some public transport owners have taken advantage to hike fares.

State oil firm NNPC said this week that over 2.3 billion litres of petrol is scheduled for delivery by the end of the month as it struggles to solve the shortages.

Congested roads in Africa's most populous nation are poorly maintained, and riven with gullies and potholes large enough to swallow cars. Accidents are frequent, particularly at night with vehicles poorly-lit, although the death toll is rarely so high.