AT least ten persons died in an auto crash along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Saturday, January 14.
This was disclosed to journalists by Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ogun State, Ahmed Umar.
Umar said the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, involved a Mack truck and a Toyota Hiace bus.
”A total of 19 people were involved in the crash which comprised 13 male adults and six female adults. Two male adults sustained injuries while seven male adults, two female adults and one female child died in the accident,” he said.
Umar blamed the accident on road obstruction by the trailer driver. He also faulted what he described as excessive speed by the driver of the Hiace bus, who was said to have lost control and ran into the truck.
Wounded passengers were taken to Victory Hospital, Ogerse for treatment, while the deceased have been deposited at a morgue in Ipara.
On December 25, 2022, three persons died while six others sustained injuries in an accident along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
While over speeding is often cited as the reason for most accidents on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the frequency of auto-crashes on the route has remained a source of concern.
In 2021, Ogun State ranked fourth on number of deaths from road accidents among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The ICIR reported that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway accounts for a large proportion of motor accidents in Nigeria.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.