It was sometime in November 2016 that a young woman identified as Monica Onokah met her untimely death in Lagos metropolis. It was a very painful death as a container fell on her somewhere at FESTAC town, trapping her legs. The trend has resurfaced again as Lagos recently recorded two two trailer incidents which left some families in morning.
Monica was on a bike going to work when the accident happened. While the okada man escaped, she was not lucky as her legs were stuck under the container. She was writhing in pain while rescuers decided to hack her legs as there was no equipment to save her. She bled to death before reaching the hospital; and everybody moved on.
Daily Trust Saturday learnt that the Lagos State Government did not fulfill its promise to compensate her family.
In August 2020, Chidinma Ajoku, 27, and Chima Nnaekpe, 29, who were both employees of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), were crushed by a container that fell on a bus conveying them home after work. One other person identified as Daniel Okwuoge also died in the accident, which occurred around Ijesha, Mile 2.
While calling for justice, Mrs Chineze Ajoku, Chidinma’s distraught mother said, “This is becoming too much. These containers keep on killing people and nobody talks. Everybody’s life is in danger in Lagos, whether you have a car or not. We all encounter these containers every day; and they are very reckless.”
Over the years, accidents involving trucks with containers have claimed many lives in Lagos and left families without breadwinners and loved ones.
The latest of such was the Sunday incident when a truck conveying a 20ft container lost control and it landed on a commercial bus, killing 9 people.
The truck was trying to climb the Ojuelegba bridge when it suddenly lost control and its container detached.
The yellow bus, with registration number, KTU 921 YD, was fully loaded when the accident happened, trapping the driver and passengers.
Many passersby and residents of the area were helpless as the victims writhed in pains. Before rescuers would get to them, it was already late. Only one person survived the accident.
Two days later, another incident involving a container truck killed two people, while four others, including two pregnant women and two children, were injured.
The accident occurred about 12:30pm at Ikotun, involving a fully loaded container truck with registration number, JJJ 125 and four tricycles.
Operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) who rescued the victims confirmed that the rider of one of the tricycles and a passenger died instantly.
It was gathered that the rescued victims were handed to policemen from Ikotun station, who took them to a general hospital for treatment.
The spokesperson of the LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq said, “A preliminary investigation revealed that the fully loaded container truck (JJJ 125) had a brake failure and crushed three tricycles by a valley around the Synagogue when going towards Ikotun.
Findings by Daily Trust Saturday revealed that no fewer than 10 other accidents involving containers were recorded.
The following day at Odo-Iyalaro bridge, inward Maryland, a truck with an unknown registration number conveying a double 20ft container was involved in a solitary accident.
Further information gathered at the scene of the incident revealed that it occurred due to a mechanical fault (broken spring pin of the rear tyre) developed by the truck while on high speed.
As a result of this, the truck swayed to the side and the containers fell off, blocking the entire road inward Independence Tunnel.
On February 1 at Oshodi (under bridge), another MACK containerised truck with an unknown registration number carrying 40fts container and a TATA bus with registration number JJJ 550XX were involved in an accident.
Further investigation revealed that the truck lost control due to mechanical fault (brake failure) before falling on the stationary TATA bus, but no life was lost nor injuries recorded.
From 2015 till date, records show that at least 20 people have been killed in accidents involving containers in Lagos State.
On September 2, 2015, a 40-feet container fell off the Ojuelegba bridge, flattening a car and killing three people. This was followed by the case of Monica in 2016. In June 2018, a container fell off a trailer on the same bridge, crushing three buses and a car. Three persons died in the incident, with many others injured.
On September 16, 2019, a container fell on a car at Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu, killing two persons.
Other cases included 9 people on Sunday, two on Tuesday, two in August 2020, who were FAAN staff.
There have been concerns over the state of trucks conveying containers in and around Lagos mostly emanating from the Lagos Ports. Across Lagos metropolis, many rickety trucks ply the roads on a daily basis and even defy government’s directive restricting movement of container trucks in the daytime.
This is in addition to the fact that most of the containers are unlatched against the directive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The Lagos State sector commander of FRSC, Olusegun Ogungbemide, in a chat with Daily Trust Saturday, said the corps had declared war on unlatched containers, saying enforcement would continue to ensure that drivers make it a duty to properly latch their containers before leaving their terminals in Apapa.
On the Ojuelegba incident he said, “We have really done so much in reducing this. We will continue to do what we are doing because our vision is zero tolerance for all these crises. The last time we had this kind of thing was also on this bridge.
“We look forward to a situation where we can stop them from using the bridge. They should probably use the lower part of the bridge.”
But a stakeholder in the transportation logistics business, Alhaji Inua Abdullahi, in a chat with Daily Trust Saturday, said there was the need to monitor the movement of containers right from the ports. He said some containers usually loaded items beyond their designed capacity.
He said that to avoid accidents, the weight of containers must be within the capacity of the trucks. He said the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) must check the corrupt tendencies of some importers, who are in the habit of loading containers with many items, which affect their movement.
Abdullahi, who is the managing director of Gee-Gee Global Logistics, also raised issue about the extortion of truck drivers by Area Boys in Lagos, urging the government to intervene.
He said, “A truck is like a human being. It may develop faults any time. When a truck is on motion and the driver detects anything, there is no room for him to park to rectify that. The moment he parks, area boys would pounce on him. They would first punch him, then collect all his money. They charge between N30,000 and N50,000 before the truck can leave.
“Again, along the line, the LASTMA might come with a towing van, and if they tow the vehicle you might be asked to pay N150, 000 to N200,000 as fine. What happened recently is very sad, but we appeal to the government to eradicate the activities of area boys.”
Daily Trust on Saturday gathered from stakeholders in the industry that despite several appeals, the state government has failed to stop the activities of touts.
“Most truck drivers would rather continue driving even after detecting a malfunction because if they stop, area boys will harass them, loot the container and even injure them if they fail to pay. This is the reason truck drivers don’t stop to fix anything on the road. In fact, it is when the truck can no longer move that they stop,” a truck driver noted.
‘We are doing everything possible to stop this nonsense – Lagos govt
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, in a chat with our correspondent, said the government was doing everything possible to stop the carnage in the state. He disclosed that the state government was working with the federal government to return barriers to Ojuelegba.
He said, “We are working with the NPA and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing on how to stop the carnage. First is to sympathise with the families of those who died and to say that we are doing everything possible to stop this kind of thing from happening again.
“You will recall that Ojuelegba bridge used to have a barrier, but it was removed. Now, we are working seriously towards bringing back the barrier. Also, we have a law that takes care of all of these things – the Lagos State Traffic Law 2018. So we are going to be doing more enforcement of the law. These rickety vehicles you see on the roads do this kind of thing and there seems to be no penalty.
He said there was no logic in the concern about area boys because before moving from the port, truck drivers should ensure that their vehicles are in good condition.
Lagos considers restricting trucks, others to designated routes
The Lagos State Government is contemplating implementing logistic routes for trucks and articulated vehicles as specified in the State Transport Master plan.
Commissioner for Transportation Dr Frederic Oladeinde, disclosed this at a Stakeholders’ engagement meeting held at Alausa Ikeja.
He noted that the Stakeholders are gathered periodically to chart robust strategies that will further checkmate unceasing truck accidents in the State, saying safety and security of Lagosians remains paramount to the State Government.
Explaining the proposed logistic routes for trucks and articulated vehicles, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola noted that the State Government is considering implementing the use of designated routes for articulated vehicles as one of the strategies to checkmate the operations and activities of trucks plying the State roads.
He stated that the Government does not want to take unilateral decisions, hence, it called for the Stakeholders’ engagement meeting to dialogue with relevant unions before taking necessary steps.
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