12 killed in auto crash at Lagos tollgate

Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos - 27.01.2008

No fewer than 12 people died in an auto accident that occurred at the Lagos tollgate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when a truck with the inscription DT147 ran into a commercial bus with the registration number XF613FST.

Sunday Tribune reporter, who was at the scene of the accident, learnt that the bus was conveying passengers from Akute, a suburb in Ogun State to Ketu, Lagos State when it collided with the truck.

According to an eyewitness, the 12 passengers of the bus died instantly ,while their bodies were taken to a nearby hospital at Isheri Olofin, Berger Lagos.

But in his comment, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said that only four had died while eight were injured, saying that the dead bodies had been taken to Isolo General Hospital’s mortuary while the injured had been taken to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for treatment.

The witness ,who is a security man in one of the companies on the expressway ,said that the accident occurred when the commercial driver took the wrong lane while trying to avoid the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority who were mounting roadblock to enforce the state’s monthly environmental sanitation.

He said, “The driver of the bus made a U -turn and took one way when he noticed that the LASTMA officials were on the expressway but ,unfortunately, he did not see the truck but ran into it. Instantly, 12 people died while some were injured.”

Speaking to Sunday Tribune, the state Commander of the Rapid Response Squad, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, confirmed the incident, saying that the accident claimed several lives while some were injured.

Odumosu ,who was at the scene, said he had brought his team to maintain peace and to curb traffic that the incident might cause. He said, “Some people died and some were injured. Some have been taken to hospital for resuscitation but we are here primarily to curb any other accident.”

Reacting to the development, the Special Adviser, Mr. Opeifa described the accident as a sad event, saying it had occurred due to the disobedience of the commercial driver who was plying the road during the monthly environmental sanitation.

He said, “The driver had contravened the state’s rule by working during the sanitation hours and by taking one way.” Opeifa said he was at the scene for rescue operation but was attacked by the angry mob who identified him with a LASTMA official.