Abandoned Truck, Piling Rig Raise Safety Concerns On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
Motorists and residents along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have raised concerns over the continued presence of a faulty truck and an abandoned piling rig obstructing portions of the busy highway.
The heavy-duty vehicles, reportedly left around Gideon Bus Stop and the Kara-Ibafo section of the expressway, have become a source of concern for road users, particularly at night when visibility is reduced.
A correspondent who visited the affected areas observed that a hydraulic piling rig had reportedly slipped off its lowbed trailer and tilted towards a roadside ditch, with its mast extending in the direction of the highway.
A safety cone was placed near the flatbed trailer, but motorists expressed concern that the warning was inadequate to sufficiently alert approaching drivers, especially those travelling at high speed.
At Kara-Ibafo, another truck involved in a fatal crash on August 24 was also reportedly still abandoned by the roadside.
A resident said the lowbed truck conveying the piling rig developed a fault, resulting in the rig falling off the trailer.
Motorists who spoke on the situation warned that the abandoned vehicles could constitute serious hazards by obstructing traffic and forcing drivers to make sudden manoeuvres.
One of the motorists, Adewale, said road users approaching the area needed to exercise extreme caution because the vehicles could be difficult to notice at night.
He urged the relevant authorities to ensure that adequate warning signs were provided and that the vehicles were removed promptly.
Another motorist, Kunle Bankole, said the situation posed a particular danger to drivers unfamiliar with the affected section of the expressway.
According to him, a driver travelling at speed or distracted while approaching the obstruction could suddenly encounter the vehicle and lose control.
A resident, Tunde, claimed that the heavy-duty vehicles had remained at the locations for about three weeks, urging the authorities to relocate them to safer areas.
He said leaving faulty vehicles on a busy expressway for extended periods increased the risk of avoidable crashes.
Efforts to obtain a response from the spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Babatunde Akinbiyi, were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls or respond to enquiries sent to him as of the time of filing the report.
The concerns come against the backdrop of previous fatal crashes involving stationary and heavy-duty vehicles along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
On August 24, seven people were killed while two others sustained injuries in a multiple crash involving three vehicles around Kara-Ibafo.
The Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps said the crash, which occurred at about 12:03am, involved a white HOWO CNG/CIMC ENRIC truck, a white MACK trailer and a Mitsubishi Canter with registration number JJJ920YA.
In December 2025, former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, also narrowly escaped death when the vehicle conveying him collided with a stationary truck along the expressway. Two of his friends died in the crash.
The FRSC attributed that incident to excessive speed and wrongful overtaking, highlighting the dangers posed by both unsafe driving practices and stationary vehicles on major highways.
