6 days ago
An unidentified young man lost his life on Wednesday afternoon in a suspected hit-and-run accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway near the OPIC corridor in Ogun State.
The incident took place just before 1:00 PM as the victim attempted to cross the highway from the Lagos-bound carriageway toward the roadside. According to witnesses, a fast-moving truck struck the man and ran over him before the driver fled the scene. The severe impact resulted in fatal injuries, leaving body parts scattered across the road and forcing motorists to slow down to navigate around the scene.
An eyewitness named Nojeem confirmed he saw the victim crossing the highway when the truck hit him. Nojeem expressed concern over the high frequency of deadly accidents on the busy route, urging authorities to construct a pedestrian bridge to protect people trying to cross the expressway.
The victim's body remained on the road when the scene was visited shortly after 2:00 PM. Babatunde Akinbiyi, spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance Agency (TRACE), confirmed the hit-and-run incident at the OPIC bus stop on the Lagos-bound side. TRACE officials and members of the Amotekun Corps were deployed to manage the resulting traffic disruption.
In an update issued around 6:00 PM, Akinbiyi announced that officers from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had removed the body and transported it to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu. Normal traffic flow was restored once the evacuation was completed.
Why It Matters
The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is widely recognized as Nigeria's busiest highway, serving as a critical arterial route that connects the nation's economic hub with other regions. Because it passes through rapidly expanding suburban communities in Ogun State, high-speed vehicular traffic frequently intersects with local pedestrian movement. The absence of pedestrian bridges in heavily populated corridors along major Nigerian highways remains a persistent public safety challenge, often forcing residents to risk their lives crossing multi-lane expressways on foot.
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