No fewer than ten persons have been confirmed dead while three others sustained injuries in a lone accident along the Ijebu-Ode-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State.
The tragic incident occurred Friday night when a Mitsubishi commercial bus, carrying fifteen passengers, lost control and plunged off the Omu Bridge, near the Awa Ijebu axis of the expressway.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the driver, reportedly speeding, attempted to overtake another vehicle but lost control in the process, causing the bus to veer off the road and dive into the river under the bridge.
“The accident involved an 18-seater bus heading to Ibadan from Ijebu-Ode,” a source in the area, simply identified as TMC, said. “It was a horrible scene. The bus crashed into the river and many lives were lost. We counted around 12 dead initially.”
Confirming the incident on Saturday, spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi, explained that the crash happened around 8:30 pm but rescuers couldn’t access the scene until the following morning.
According to him, “An eyewitness account revealed that wrongful overtaking combined with excessive speed led to the unfortunate incident. On noticing an oncoming vehicle, the driver lost control, swerved off the road, hit an abandoned gravel heap near the bridge, and the bus somersaulted into the river.”
Akinbiyi stated that 15 persons were involved in the crash. Sadly, 10 of them – three women and seven men – were confirmed dead at the scene, while three others suffered injuries. Two persons, including a toddler and an adult, escaped the crash unhurt.
“The deceased victims were evacuated and their remains deposited at the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital morgue. The injured passengers were also taken to the same facility for treatment,” Akinbiyi added.
He advised motorists to avoid dangerous overtaking, night travel, and excessive speeding, warning that such reckless behaviour continues to claim innocent lives on the highways.
“The TRACE Corps, alongside the Police and the Federal Road Safety Corps, commiserates with the bereaved families. Drivers must always exercise caution, especially when approaching bridges or travelling at night,” Akinbiyi concluded.
