Lagos pedestrian bridge collapses after being hit by truck

In the wee hours of Thursday, a truck crashed into a pedestrian bridge at Alapere Ketu Estate Gate on the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway, becoming trapped and causing damage to the entire structure.

This was confirmed in a phone conversation on Friday by Sola Giwa, the Lagos State Governor’s Special Advisor on Transportation.

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He said that a convoy of roughly twelve trucks was travelling, and that ten of them had safely crossed the bridge. However, the eleventh truck, because of its haste and impatience, got caught beneath the bridge, seriously damaging it and causing the bridge to collapse.

“The accident happened on Thursday at around 11 p.m.,” he stated. When it happened, there were roughly twelve trucks travelling inward on the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway.

“Eleven trucks were able to manoeuvre through the bridge, but the driver was too eager to cross it safely because of the height of the container it was carrying. As a result, the truck crashed into the bridge, causing damage to the entire structure.”

Giwa emphasised that no casualties were reported and added that emergency personnel were able to remove the debris from the road to permit unhindered traffic passage.

As soon as we learned of the event, we alerted the appropriate authorities, and the road has been cleared of debris. The flow of traffic will be easy in a few minutes. There were no casualties reported in the incident, he said.

In the meantime, Bakare Oki, the acting general manager of the Lagos State Transportation Management Authority and a first responder at the accident scene, urged drivers to always drive slowly in order to prevent incidents like this.

“We recognise that people are frequently hurried during the holidays, but exercise patience anytime you’re driving—not just for your own safety but also for the safety of other drivers.

In order to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the number of casualties on the roads, he urged motorists and other road users, particularly those using the roads in Lagos, to drive slowly and cautiously.