Posted by Fifty or more drivers have been ‘consumed’ by rivers along major roadways in Ogun State in the past four years, according to research by JANESCOPE.
After their vehicles fell into the numerous rivers in Ogun State, the afflicted travelers were forced to abandon their trip.
Our correspondent’s research showed that the Lagos–Benin expressway was the site of more than 95% of these incidents.
From Lagos to Delta via Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Ore, Benin, and Delta was the Lagos-Benin highway.
This highway connects the country’s commercial capital, Lagos, to the rest of the country via the South-South and the South-East.
Vehicles of varying sizes travelling in and out of Lagos are a constant presence on the road, the longest corridor of which is Ogun.
From what has been collected, the bulk of persons who were in the submerged automobiles did not survive long enough to be located and rescued.
Lai Oso, a famous professor of mass communication at Lagos State University (LASU), was one of the victims of one of these crashes on June 24, 2023.
Oso drowned when his automobile went off the Ijebu axis in Ogun State and into the river below. Oso’s car reportedly went off the Sagamu-Ore highway and crashed into the lake because the driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel.
It was learned that Oso, a professor of Mass Communication at several universities, was riding shotgun with the driver, while three other people were seated in the back.
Since Oso and the murdered driver were both wearing seat belts, it was extremely difficult for either of them to untie themselves and exit the sport utility vehicle in time to avoid certain death. They both perished, while the people in the back seat made it out alive.
Drivers who spoke with DAILY POST were not able to rule out the possibility that automobiles had crashed into the lake when no one was around to aid.
After the incident in Oso on September 3, a witness in Ijebu East saw a vehicle crash into the Omo River. He or she immediately rushed to alert the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogbere.
The passengers of the doomed Sienna bus were instantly rescued after emergency personnel took the appropriate measures.
The local divers started looking for the missing individual seriously, and they found one of them alive.
However, after four days, seven bodies were pulled from the river.
Due to its excessive speed, the Sienna bus with the license plate number APP830HX had jumped off the bridge and into the river below.
According to the FRSC, the accident was caused by careless driving. Anthony Uga, the sector commander of the Ogun FRSC, said that the collision may have been prevented if the driver had exercised greater caution.
Tajudeen Oropo, a senior member of staff at the erstwhile Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu in Ogun State, had his automobile go off the road and into the Ososa river earlier in September 2019.
Our correspondent was told by a TASCE professor that Oropo had been grumbling about his inability to pay for his children’s school tuition and take care of his home because of his financial situation and that “he might have plunged into the river being in deep thought.”
The Ogun State Command of the Federal Highway Administration has confirmed that Oropo’s vehicle was launched into the river after the driver lost control.
Days later, local divers located Oropo’s body and his car, a black Honda Civic bearing the license plate number EPE892CV, submerged in the river.
A commercial Toyota Sienna carrying 10 people reportedly crashed into the same Ososa river on the Sagamu-Ijebu-Ode-Benin route in the Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun a few days later.
The fatal accident happened as the bus was transporting its passengers from Sagamu to Ijebu-Ode.
Florence Okpe, a representative for the Federal Road Safety Commission in the state of Ogun, said that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle after a tyre burst while attempting to pass another vehicle on the bridge.
Local divers have yet to locate either the vehicle or its 10 missing occupants.
Three people had drowned two months earlier when a commercial bus crashed into the same Ososa river, according to the FRSC.
The driver of a yellow Mazda E220 commercial bus traveling from Ijebu-Ode Motor park to Lagos lost control of the vehicle due to a technical defect, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) said.
On the Ijebu-Ode/Benin highway in April 2019, a woman tragically lost her life when the Lexus SUV she was driving flipped and landed in the river, hurting her daughter in the process.
Overspeeding was revealed to be a contributing factor in the accident by the Public Relations Officer of the Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi.
On January 28, 2020, a tragic accident occurred on the Ibadan/Ijebu-Ode highway near the Omi River, resulting in the deaths of fifteen people and injury to thirty-eight more.
Sokoto State police say a white Mitsubishi truck with the license plate number XE331MKA lost control and fell into the Omi River.
The FRSC claims that the truck’s driver was too tired to control the vehicle, and that the accident occurred when the truck went off the road on the bridge’s narrow side.
Four people also drowned on July 21, 2020, when a car heading for Ijebu-Ode crashed into the Ososa River at around 10:20 a.m.
In the lone collision, a business Opel with the license plate number GGE 596 DV was involved.
It was reported in December of 2020 that two ladies had committed themselves after landing in a muddy ditch.
At the Fidiwo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, headed toward Lagos, the car transporting them had slipped off the road and fallen into a swampy ditch.
The driver of the Sharon space bus (with the registration number YEE 202XA) apparently lost control of the spacecraft while traveling at high speeds.
In May 2021, a truck on the Lagos-Abeokuta road reportedly lost control and fell into a river at Toll-gate. The driver and motor boy were saved from certain death.
At Iju Bridge on the Ota-Idiroko route in Atan, Ogun State, one person was reportedly killed in October 2021.
The State TRACE corps determined that the Isuzu vehicle, with the license plate number XV 229 EPE, had brake failure, “which eventually hit the Toyota RAV 4 and dragged it into the river.”
TRACE spokesman Babatunde Akinbiyi confirmed that the driver of the automobile was killed in the collision.
In addition, a Dangote truck carrying sacks of cement lost control and fell into the Ososa River on the Sagamu-Benin route in November of 2021.
Because of his excessive speed, the driver lost command of the vehicle. Florence Okpe, a spokesperson for the Ogun FRSC, reported that a body was recovered from the river.
The Dangote truck mishap was followed by another vehicle going into the same Ososa River less than 48 hours later. Fortunately, only one person was hurt, but tragically, two people lost their lives.
The FRSC reported that a Toyota Camry with license plate SMK-08HK and a Lexus RX 330 with license plate MUS-370GV were involved in a rear-end collision due to excessive speed.
The death of a man was confirmed in July 2022 at the old toll gate at Ota on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. The vehicle had apparently hit the victim before it crashed into the river. The motorist allegedly lost control at night owing to faulty brakes, leading to the catastrophe.
FRSC pinpoints causes and places blame on motorists.
Okpe, a spokesman for the FRSC in Ogun State, has determined at least some of the factors that contribute to the collisions. She claims that guard railings on most bridges are inadequate. Okpe said that some were constructed with the safeguards, but that the rails have since deteriorated.
The FRSC representative also pointed the finger at drivers for their reckless behavior on the bridges, such as overtaking and going too fast.
If you look closely, you’ll see that several of the bridges along the expressway lack adequate guard rails, and others have guard rails but are in disrepair.
“Secondly, as a highway with heavy traffic, some drivers do not take the necessary safety measures. They’re doing things like overtaking and going too fast, which are illegal on a bridge, she said.
During her farewell speech, she urged drivers to “drive cautiously, obey traffic rules and regulations, observe safety signs, and drive defensively; that is- driving yourself and others.”
It’s possible rivers require human blood offerings, one traditionalist claims.
Sule Anigboro, a traditionalist, commented on the incident to DAILY POST, saying that it’s possible the rivers need to be appeased.
In order to get things moving, herbalist Anigboro in Remo appealed to the town’s traditional elders and chiefs.
He suggests there may be more to automobiles drowning in rivers than meets the eye, and that sacrifices may be required to please the gods and spirits there.
Vehicles drowning in rivers could be a result of drivers ignoring the rivers’ requests.
Our ancestors once paid homage to these waters, but if the ritual isn’t repeated, they may become enraged. You can still find those historical relics nowadays. The traditionalist explained, “We have some spirits that operate only at night.”
TRACE PRO says drivers are to blame.
According to Akinbiyi, the public relations officer for the traffic department in Ogun State, most automobiles that have crashed into rivers along highways in Ogun State are the fault of their drivers.
Akinbiyi emphasized the reality that drivers, cars, and road conditions can all play a role in causing traffic accidents.
The man towers above the other two, as he is ultimately responsible for many of the other contributing variables that lead to accidents.
Are you in a healthy state of mind, body, and spirit before you take the wheel? Akinbiyi said in an interview, “If you’re not, then you’re just another crash waiting to happen.”
He thinks motorists should adjust their behavior to suit the state of the roads.
“Some motorists don’t slow down enough as they get close to the bridges. The driver of the last bus to plummet into the river must have been going too fast for the bridge. It’s possible that this led to a loss of control and the car veered off course.
The tires on our vehicle are another issue. People speed when using used tires. When the tires lose their traction, it becomes dangerous. Furthermore, your car will never be balanced if you drive it while overloaded.
We won’t be discussing fatalities if people drive slowly and carefully along that axis, even if some of the bridges could use some upkeep and repairs.
We are aware that some of the defenses are weakened or have already been breached. That’s where the government should step in, he said, “but the driver still has some responsibility in not engaging in reckless driving.”
Akinbiyi that people not travel lengthy distances, especially at night or early in the morning, on roads they are unfamiliar with.
He warned drivers to always take enough break, saying that those coming from the South and South-East tend to grow tired as they reach the Ijebu-Ode-Sagamu axis of the route.
Akinbiyi stated that those working in traffic management do not partake in rituals of obeisance to waterways.
He urged drivers to adopt a new mindset, saying it’s the only way to prevent cars from falling into rivers and increase security on other highways.
CPS: Government has no role in speeding.
Lekan Adeniran, Governor Dapo Abiodun’s Chief Press Secretary, told our correspondent that the administration is not involved in the issue of excessive speeding.
The government is completely unrelated to speeding. How can you warn motorists? Expressways are not the place for speed bumps, as you well know.
In a brief phone chat, he said, “But I will help you get in touch with the Works Ministry (so that they can talk) on the barriers.”