Lagos, Ogun Move to Tackle Lagos-Ibadan Road Carnage

The Lagos State Government has blamed reckless driving, overloaded trucks and roadside parking by articulated vehicles for recurring accidents along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as it announced plans for a joint meeting with Ogun State to address safety concerns on the busy corridor.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, disclosed this at the ministry’s 2026 media parley, saying the two states would meet with their respective commissioners of police and other stakeholders on November 4 or 5 to develop measures to tackle the persistent problems.

Osiyemi said a thorough assessment of Otedola Bridge had found no engineering defect, attributing the accidents recorded around the area to driver recklessness and the condition of some vehicles using the road.

He said, “A thorough examination was done and it was confirmed that there was no engineering defect.”

The commissioner said roadside parking by trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles was also worsening traffic conditions, reducing the number of available lanes and increasing the risk of collisions.

“Along that road, you would realise that buses and all of those trailers stay by the roadside and practically take away one lane. A trailer that is coming has to manoeuvre, and they have reduced three lanes to two, sometimes one,” he said.

Osiyemi described the situation as a growing safety concern requiring coordinated action by the relevant authorities in both states.

He said the proposed meeting would involve the commissioners for transportation and commissioners of police in Lagos and Ogun, alongside other stakeholders, to address the challenges affecting the corridor.

The commissioner also identified the overloading of petroleum tankers as a major safety risk, alleging that some operators carried quantities above the designed capacity of their vehicles.

According to him, a tanker designed to carry 33,000 litres of petroleum products could be loaded with as much as 45,000 litres, increasing the danger posed by such vehicles on the highway.

He said the Federal Government planned to introduce weighbridges to identify overloaded trucks and improve compliance with road safety requirements.

Osiyemi added that the state was also pursuing the installation of additional road signs and speed-limit cameras along the corridor.

He said the proposal for speed-limit cameras had been forwarded to the Minister of Works for approval, expressing hope that the necessary clearance would be obtained to enable full enforcement.

The commissioner stressed that addressing the recurring accidents would require action against reckless driving, poorly maintained vehicles, overloading and traffic obstructions rather than attributing the incidents to structural defects in the bridge.

The proposed joint meeting is expected to bring together the relevant authorities to consider coordinated measures to improve road safety, strengthen traffic enforcement and reduce the risks posed by heavy-duty vehicles along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.