The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has blamed excessive speeding and the illegal reversing of a truck for the fatal road crash that claimed the lives of 10 people on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State on Sunday night.
The crash occurred around 8:05 p.m. at Saapade Bridge along the Ibadan-Lagos section of the expressway and involved a white Sinotruk (CNHTC) truck and a white Toyota Hiace commercial bus with registration number EKY 290 YM.
The Ogun State Sector Command of the FRSC said 18 people were involved in the accident, comprising 15 adult males, two adult females and one male child.
According to the command, 10 persons, including nine adult males and one male child, died in the collision, while six others sustained varying degrees of injuries. Two adult male passengers escaped unhurt.
The Sector Command’s spokesperson, Afolabi Odunsi, said preliminary investigations showed that the truck driver attempted to reverse on the highway after missing his route, creating a dangerous situation for the approaching commercial bus.
He explained that the bus, which was travelling at high speed, tried to pass through the limited space left by the reversing truck but rammed into it, resulting in the fatal crash.
The injured victims were evacuated by FRSC rescue teams to Victory Hospital, Ogere, for medical treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were deposited at FOS Mortuary, Ipara.
Odunsi added that officers of the Nigeria Police Force from the Ishara Division had taken custody of the crashed vehicles as investigations continue.
He also confirmed that the accident scene had been cleared to restore the free flow of traffic along the busy highway.
Reacting to the incident, the Ogun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Oludare Ogunjobi, described the crash as avoidable and urged motorists, particularly truck operators and commercial drivers, to obey traffic regulations.
He warned drivers against reversing on highways, excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking and other dangerous driving practices, stressing that such violations remain major causes of fatal road crashes across the country.
Ogunjobi advised motorists who miss their routes to continue to the next approved turning point instead of attempting risky manoeuvres that could endanger other road users.
The latest tragedy adds to the growing number of fatal accidents recorded on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, one of Nigeria’s busiest transport corridors, where speeding, reckless driving and traffic violations continue to claim lives despite repeated safety campaigns by road authorities.