Seven lives were tragically lost in Ibadan on Wednesday following two separate fatal road accidents on major Oyo expressways.
Three schoolchildren were killed by a brake-failed truck, while four others died in a commercial vehicle collision.
Tragedy struck the city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, on Wednesday, as two separate road accidents claimed the lives of at least seven people, leaving several others injured. The devastating incidents, which occurred along major expressways in the state, have thrown families and entire communities into mourning.
In the first accident, which happened at the Celica-Kukumoda stretch of the Ife/Ibadan expressway, three schoolchildren, reportedly siblings, were crushed to death by a truck carrying goods. Eyewitnesses said the truck lost control after suffering a brake failure and veered off the road before ramming into the children who were on their way to school.
“The truck was descending a slope when it suddenly lost its brakes. The driver couldn’t stop it, and it ran into the kids who were walking along the roadside,” said a resident who witnessed the tragic event. “It was a terrifying moment. People screamed, but it was too late to save them.”
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) quickly responded to the scene, where they recovered the bodies of the victims. The remains were later deposited at a nearby hospital’s morgue, while efforts were made to remove the truck to ease traffic congestion in the area.
In a separate but equally horrific incident, four other people lost their lives in a collision involving two commercial vehicles at Idi-Ori, along the Oyo expressway. The crash, which involved a yellow Volvo vehicle and a DAF truck, occurred under unclear circumstances, although eyewitnesses blamed it on a road obstruction that caused one of the vehicles to swerve into the other.
An eyewitness, Mr. Adekunle Adeleke, described the scene as chaotic. “The accident involved a Volvo and a DAF truck. It happened so fast. Six people were involved, and sadly, four of them died immediately. The other two were seriously injured and were taken to the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.”
Hospital sources confirmed that the injured victims are currently receiving treatment at UCH, while the bodies of those who perished have been transferred to the hospital’s mortuary.
Mrs. Rosemary Alo, the Sector Commander of the FRSC in Oyo State, confirmed both incidents during a press briefing. She explained that personnel from the Nigeria Police Force were the first to arrive at the scene of the second crash, owing to its proximity to a police station. The police, she said, facilitated the initial rescue operations and later handed over to FRSC officials who ensured traffic was diverted to prevent further accidents.
“The corpses were transported to the University College Hospital by the police,” she said. “Our men from the Moniya unit were later deployed to the area to manage traffic flow and coordinate the removal of the damaged vehicles from the road.”
In the wake of these tragic accidents, authorities have renewed calls for strict adherence to road safety regulations. Motorists, especially commercial drivers and heavy-duty truck operators, have been urged to ensure their vehicles are in good working condition before hitting the road.
“These accidents are heartbreaking and avoidable,” Mrs. Alo added. “We appeal to all road users to take safety seriously and obey traffic laws. Human lives are too precious to be lost to negligence.”
The Oyo State government is also expected to issue an official statement addressing the incidents and outlining preventive measures to avoid such tragedies in the future. As the affected families mourn their losses, residents have expressed growing concern over the rising number of accidents on the state’s highways, calling for stronger enforcement of traffic regulations and better road maintenance.
