Twenty-eight people were killed in northern Nigeria on Thursday when two vehicles collided and caught fire, the country's Road Safety Commission said.

The accident involved a bus taking a family to a ceremony and a truck transporting cows to market, Rilwanu Sulaiman, the commission's spokesman in Bauchi state, said on Friday.

"The two vehicles had a head-on collision and caught fire, killing 28 people on board. All victims were burnt beyond recognition," Sulaiman said.

"All the 24 people in the commuter bus and four from the other vehicle were killed," he said. Officials have launched an investigation into the accident, which occurred at Gubi Gari village, 18 kilometres (11 miles) from the state capital Bauchi.