AT least four people, including a police inspector, were feared dead, and several others injured in a multiple-vehicle accident involving five articulated trucks on Kara Bridge, inward Mowe, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday, October 30.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, confirmed the incident during a visit to the scene, stating that emergency response teams worked through the early hours to rescue victims and clear the wreckage.
“We have a case of multiple accidents at the border between Ogun and Lagos State. Five vehicles were involved, all articulated vehicles. Precisely, three people have been rescued from the scene of the accident.
“As early as 5 a.m., we have been on it, and we have other agencies here assisting us. We have LASTMA, the Road Safety Corps, and other security agencies,” Jimoh said.
The commissioner also confirmed the death of one of his inspectors attached to the Lagos State Police Command who was part of the police advance team deployed to the scene.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost one of our police inspectors who came with our advance team to salvage the situation,” he said.
He explained that preliminary findings indicated the accident was triggered by a trailer that experienced brake failure, as he cautioned motorists, particularly drivers of articulated vehicles, against reckless driving, which he described as a leading cause of fatal crashes on highways.
“We want road users, especially those driving articulated vehicles, to stop this kind of recklessness. If they are not reckless in their driving habit, we won’t have this kind of accident,” he warned.
Reports indicated that rescue operations involving the police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, and other agencies were still ongoing as of press time, with efforts underway to clear the damaged vehicles and restore normal traffic flow.
The ICIR reports that this latest accident adds to the frequent accidents along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway over the years.
In 2024, a container truck crushed three people to death in Mowe on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It was gathered that the accident occurred when the container slid off the truck with number plate T-1563 LA, killing the three victims inside a Howo truck without a number plate.
In 2023, at least ten persons died in an auto crash along the busy highway.
The FRSC in Ogun State confirmed that the incident, which occurred in the early hours of January 14, involved a Mack truck and a Toyota Hiace bus.
The ICIR reported in 2022, that FRSC said ten persons died in an accident on the highway.
The accident involved a commercial bus with registration number TRK 135 ZY and a hit-and-run truck carrying a container.
Six persons were injured in the crash, which occurred around the Guru Maharaji area of Ibadan end of the expressway.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.