A tragic road accident along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Sunday night claimed several lives and left others injured after a commercial bus collided with a Dangote truck at Sapade Bridge, Ogun State.
The crash, which occurred at about 8:05 p.m., involved a white Sinotruk (CNHTC) truck and a Toyota Hiace bus, according to the Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
The FRSC said 18 people were involved in the crash, comprising 15 adult males, two adult females and one male child. Several occupants lost their lives in the collision, while six others sustained varying degrees of injuries. Two adult male passengers escaped the accident without injuries.
According to the FRSC, preliminary findings showed that excessive speed, wrongful overtaking and dangerous driving contributed to the crash. The Corps alleged that the truck driver reversed onto the highway after missing his route, creating an obstruction that the approaching commercial bus was unable to avoid.
The agency explained that the bus, which was travelling at high speed, attempted to manoeuvre through the limited space created by the reversing truck but rammed into it. The impact left the bus badly damaged and resulted in multiple casualties at the scene.
Rescue teams from the FRSC arrived shortly after the incident and evacuated the injured victims to Victory Hospital, Ogere, for medical treatment. The bodies of those who died were deposited at the FOS Mortuary in Ipara, while officers of the Nigeria Police Force from the Ishara Division took custody of the damaged vehicles.
Reacting to the tragedy, Ogun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Corps Commander Oludare Ogunjobi, sympathised with the families of the victims and wished those receiving treatment a speedy recovery. He urged motorists, particularly commercial drivers and truck operators, to avoid reversing on highways and other dangerous traffic violations.
Ogunjobi stressed that missing a route should never justify reversing on an expressway, warning that such actions continue to endanger innocent road users. He also advised motorists to obey traffic regulations, maintain safe speeds and use designated turning points whenever they miss their routes, saying strict compliance with road safety rules remains essential to reducing avoidable crashes on Nigeria’s highways.
