Two burnt to death, three injured in Lagos-Ibadan highway crash

THOUSANDS of Christmas travellers slept on the road along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Thursday through Friday in the aftermath of an accident which left two persons burnt to death while three others were seriously injured.

The Thursday night accident involved two articulated vehicles in Sagamu area of Ogun State.

The incident created a gridlock which forced thousands of passengers to pass the night trapped on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

The Nigerian Compass on Saturday gathered that the accident occurred when a pay loader marked, Lagos KJA 894 XB, pierced an articulated vehicle conveying fuel with registration Lagos 270 SD.

Sagamu Unit Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Lasisi Ogundele, who confirmed the incident, said it happened at about 10:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Ogundele, who attributed the accident to dangerous over-taking, said FRSC officials were busy at the scene through the night as they controled traffic.

He said, "The pay loader was trying to overtake the tanker, in the process, it pierced it and the content (PMS) started gushing out, five persons were involved in the accident.

"Three persons were seriously burnt beyond recognition and one of them died on the spot, while another died in the hospital, the third person is in critical condition.

"You know it was late; we could not get a crane to the scene by that time to move the vehicles, that is the reason for the delay till this morning he added."

The two articulated vehicles involved in the crash were taken off the road on Friday morning.

Also speaking, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye, who was at the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, said the police would ensure that the situation did not degenerate.

Okoye said, "We are here to ensure that hoodlums do not hijack the process and turn it into something else, a lot of people are travelling and you know what that means.

"We have a duty to protect lives and property until this road is totally free, my men are not leaving here at all."

Compass