Ojuelegba Bridge Mishaps and a Government’s ‘Indifference’ to Lives of Citizens

In this report, Sunday Ehigiator, who chronicled the various 11 accidents by heavy articulated vehicles on Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos which has claimed several innocent lives since 2014, the most recent being on January 29, 2023, writes that it reflects the indifference of government to the lives of its citizens 

On January 29, 2023, an articulated vehicle carrying a 20ft container fell on a commercial bus in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos State, crushing nine passengers to death.

Although an eyewitness had said the truck driver wanted to block the bus from overtaking him which led to the incident, however, investigations revealed that the commercial bus was picking up passengers at the bus stop along the Ojuelegba Bridge when the truck lost control and fell over the side of the bridge.

Confirming the incident, the Director General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the nine bodies recovered comprised four adult males, three adult females, a girl child and a boy child.

Sadly, only one passenger was reported to have been rescued from the rubbles of the fully loaded 10-seater bus. 

LASG Reacts 

In its reaction, the Lagos State Government through the Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner, Information & Strategy said measures will be put to stop the tragedy.

The statement read thus: “The Lagos State Government commiserates with the families who lost their loved ones in the Ojuelegba truck accident on Sunday, January 29, 2023. May The Almighty console them and grant them the strength to go through this difficult time. Nine persons died in the accident.

“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, after receiving an interim report of the incident, has directed the police to speed up their investigation of the matter. Besides, he has given the following directives:

“The driver of the truck and the owner, who are in police custody, must be prosecuted; Ministry of Transportation and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) should meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the menace of falling trucks; and all the laws governing the operations of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with more vigour and diligence.

“The incident of 29th January, 2023 is one too many and it shows the irresponsibility of owners and drivers of such articulated vehicles who under the law should care for other road users.

“The Lagos State Government has zero tolerance for large containers that fall off trucks and injure or kill citizens, who are going about their lawful businesses.  The driver (Sodiq Okanlawon) and owner (Wasiu Lekan) of a container which killed three (3) people on the 26th July, 2020 on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, Ilasamaja were prosecuted and convicted on the 28th February, 2022 and sentenced to life imprisonment by Hon. Justice Okikiolu Ighile.

“The State Government will, in a similar manner, ensure that the driver and the owner of the truck involved in the January 29th incident are put on trial for the needless death of our dear citizens. 

‘This, we hope, will send a strong message to all those who have no regard for other people’s lives that Lagos will not condone their recklessness. They must be stopped, with the strong backing of our laws, because their actions offend our avowed commitment to safety and decency.”

Same Bridge, Same Stories 

Unfortunately, this incident isn’t the first. According to reports, on the same bridge last week Friday, January 27, 2023, some Taskforce, who were in pursuit of one Danfo (yellow commercial bus) at Ojuelegba bridge also led to the falling of the bus from the bridge and thereby resulting in the death of one woman. Although she was rushed to the hospital, she was later confirmed dead the next day.

Similar accidents had claimed lives in the last nine years. In one of the accidents in November 2014, a trailer attempting to climb the Ojuelegba bridge late at night fell off the bridge and landed on an unoccupied commercial bus. There were no casualties on that occasion.

On September 2, 2015, another container fell on the same bridge, claiming the lives of three people in the process. A couple was killed in their vehicle, while the lone occupant of another vehicle died in the accident.

The relations are still pursuing a N10 billion compensation suit at the Lagos High Court. Both the Lagos and Federal governments, along with the owners of the truck, are defendants in the case.

In July 2016, a 40-feet container disengaged and fell from the bridge in the middle of the night with no casualty recorded.

On Sunday, July 8, 2017, residents of Ojuelegba woke up to the gory sight of a black Toyota Camry trapped under a container.

A lady who was billed to travel to the United States of America (USA) lost her life in the incident which happened at about 2.03 am after a trailer fully loaded with granite collided with her car, a Black Camry.

The immediate cause of the incident was attributed to reckless driving and overspeeding by the Camry car driver, who didn’t notice the moving truck. He lost control, crashed into the truck and sustained injuries.

He was taken to the trauma centre, while the officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management, LASEMA, extricated the lady from the mangled car and handed her over to the Nigerian Police.

On June 20, 2018, a container load of plywood fell off a flat panel truck while climbing the Ojuelegba Bridge, thereby crushing cars and commercial buses.

According to the then LASEMA Boss, Adesina Tiamiyu, “The truck was overloaded and the wood was not well-tightened to the truck, so when it climbed the bridge, it poured its contents on three buses and a car under it.”

The accident occurred at around 8 pm in the bustling business district. Unfortunately, Tiamiyu confirmed that at least three people lost their lives in the incident while four others were seriously injured.

On April 5, 2019, no fewer than seven cars suffered various degrees of damage after a truck rolled back on the Ojuelegba Bridge.

According to the former Head of Operations, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Adebayo Olusegun, the trailer was not carrying a heavy load but just rolled down the bridge.

“We thank God that no life was lost and it usually happened that trucks rolled back on the bridge after climbing. This is not a break failure but seven cars were affected.”

At about 5:41 am on November 29, 2020, Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) reported a lone accident involving a truck on Ojuelegba Bridge.

The truck was laden with plywood but emptied its contents on the bridge, blocking the road in the process.

In September of 2021, a Toyota Camry with four occupants was trapped under a truck that fell on the Ojuelegba Bridge. No lives were lost, but emergency responders said the occupants only escaped death by a whisker.

On April 2, 2022, an unidentified middle-aged man, was crushed to death by a truck that fell off Ojuelegba Bridge at night. The man was driving a Honda Accord when the truck fell on his car.

According to eyewitnesses, it took some time to get the man out and was dead when he was retrieved.

LASG’s Zero Will to Implement Restrictions 

On September 13, 2015, the Lagos State Government clarified the section of the Road Traffic Law 2012, which restricted trailers and articulated vehicles from plying the metropolis between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

In a statement signed by the then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Mr Oluseyi Whenu, it said while Section 2 of the Traffic Law ‎restricted the movement of trailers and articulated vehicles, only petrol tankers and long vehicles used in conveying passengers were allowed to travel within the metropolis between the stipulated times.

It said that vehicles with more than one rear axle or six tyres were hereby restricted between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., with the exemption of some vehicles under sections 2 and 38 of the Road Traffic Law 2012.

“These exemptions are tour buses or passenger buses, fire service trucks, rescue and recovery trucks, patrol trucks, perishable farm products trucks, refuse collection trucks, cement mixer trucks, tractors and refrigerated trucks.”

Despite this law, enforcement remains far-fetched.  As findings revealed that many of these trucks continue to move around the state outside the regulated time ascribed for them with no penalty.

Subsequent government in the state also reinforced the law but failed in constant implementation, with citizens continuously paying for it with their lives.

Absence of Barricades

Many of the accidents have also been ascribed to the lack of sufficient barricades on the Ojuelegba Bridge, which the government has accused vandals responsible for stealing metal barricades placed along the side track of the bridge to prevent vehicles from plunging off it.

Speaking on the incidents, LASEMA DG, Oke-Osanyintolu faulted vandals for removing metal barriers around the bridge, which should have prevented the trucks from falling over.

He also said truck drivers were failing to do due diligence in securing their containers to their trucks.

“Accidents over the years may have damaged the barriers, but if it was just the accidents, you would still see the metal. They have been vandalised. These accidents could have been avoided.”

Following the January 29 incident, the state’s Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde in a statement on Monday, January 30, 2023, said the state was “working with the federal ministry of works and housing to install vehicle/truck barriers on the inward and outward sections of the bridge.”

According to him, “We share the grief of those who lost their loved ones in the accident and pray that the Almighty will strengthen them at this difficult time.”

He said that the government would continue to implement its transport master plan, which had safety strategies that would ensure safer roads.

Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has recommended the construction of barricades on the Ojuelegba Bridge to restrict the movement of articulated vehicles.

The agency said the barricades would serve as a permanent solution to the reoccurring crashes.

Quote

The incident of 29th January, 2023 is one too many and it shows the irresponsibility of owners and drivers of such articulated vehicles who under the law should care for other road users