Deadly Highway Inferno

​ABEOKUTA – A horrific lone accident along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway on Thursday turned a routine commercial trip into a tragedy, leaving multiple passengers dead and several others severely injured after a commercial bus suffered a tyre burst, somersaulted, and burst into flames.

​The fatal crash, which occurred around 11:00 am near the Iyana Egbado axis inbound Papalanto within the Ewekoro Local Government Area, involved a white Mazda E2000 commercial bus bearing registration number KRD 809 XC. The vehicle was reportedly bound for Lagos from Abeokuta when the disaster struck.

​While first responders and traffic compliance agencies rushed to the scene to extinguish the inferno and rescue trapped occupants, conflicting casualty figures have emerged from the various response teams.

​Conflicting Casualty Tolls

​The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) and the Ogun State Police Command initially confirmed three fatalities, stating that the victims were burnt beyond recognition.

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​According to TRACE spokesperson, Babatunde Akinbiyi, 15 other passengers sustained varying degrees of severe burns and injuries.

​”According to an eyewitness, the bus tyre burst while in motion, somersaulted into the bush, and immediately burst into flames,” Akinbiyi said.

​Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Babaseyi Oluseyi, corroborated this sequence of events, noting that personnel from the Divisional Motor Traffic Department (MTD) in Ewekoro promptly deployed to recover the wreckage and initiate a safety inspection.

​However, a subsequent statement from the Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) painted an even grimmer picture, placing the death toll at five. FRSC spokesperson Afolabi Odunsi disclosed that the vehicle was heavily overloaded, carrying 20 occupants in total: six adult males, 11 adult females, and three children.

​The FRSC breakdown of the deceased includes:

• ​One adult male
• ​Two adult females
• ​One male child
• ​One female child

​According to the FRSC, 10 passengers were left injured, while five miraculously managed to escape the burning wreckage unhurt.

​Speed, Substandard Tyres Blamed

​Preliminary investigations by traffic officials point to a combination of high speed, overloading, and poor vehicle maintenance as the primary catalysts for the tragedy. The sudden rupture of the tyre at high velocity caused the driver to completely lose control of the vehicle.

​The injured victims were evacuated to the General Hospital in Ifo and the Oreofe Specialist Hospital in Itori for emergency medical treatment. The remains of the deceased have been deposited at the Ifo General Hospital morgue.

​Reacting to the incident, the Ogun State FRSC Sector Commander, Oludare Ogunjobi, alongside TRACE officials, extended deep condolences to the bereaved families. Authorities issued a stern warning to motorists to strictly avoid excessive speeding, overloading, and the hazardous reliance on secondhand tyres—locally known as tokunbo tyres—especially during high-traffic festive periods.

​Efforts remain underway by the police and road safety officials to formally identify the deceased victims and conclude the investigation into the crash.