Sanwo-Olu swears prosecution when another container crashes

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has vowed to prosecute a truck driver and his owner over an accident that claimed nine lives in Ojuelegba, in the Surulere area of ​​the state.

PUNCH subway reported that no fewer than nine people were crushed when the container fell onto a minibus on a semi-trailer truck in Ojuelegba on Sunday.

Sanwo-Olu, in a statement signed Monday by state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, directed relevant agencies to enforce laws guiding trucking operations in the state.

The governor also identified some of the victims of the accident and urged police to speed up the investigation into the matter.

The statement read in part: “The Government of Lagos expresses condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the Ojuelegba truck accident on Sunday, January 29, 2023.

“Nine people died in the accident. Identified victims are Miss Blessing Isioma; Abdurahman Okoya Sunday; Félix John Ifeanyi, 40; Olatokunbo Basirat King, 49.

“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, after receiving an interim report of the incident, has ordered the police to expedite the investigation into the matter. In addition, he has issued the following guidelines:

“The truck driver and owner, who are in police custody, must be prosecuted; Ministry of Transport and Nigeria Ports Authority need to meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the threat of falling trucks; and all laws governing the operation of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with greater vigor and diligence.

The state recalled that a truck driver, Sodiq Okanlawon, and the owner of the truck, Wasiu Lekan, have been sentenced to life imprisonment for causing the deaths of three people on July 26, 2020 in Ilasamaja, on the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway.

State Transport Commissioner Dr Frederic Oladeinde said on Monday that the state government would erect barricades around the Ojuelegba Bridge.

Meanwhile, one day after the Ojuelegba incident, another container was reported to have fallen in the Iyana Ipaja area on Monday.

Lagos State Traffic Management Authority spokesman Taofiq Adebayo noted in a statement that the fallen 40-foot container took up 90 percent of the road.

It read: “A 40ft container loaded truck fell under the bridge at Sawmill in Dopemu; it occupies 90 percent of the road. Our men are on the ground doing what is necessary as recovery is underway.