No fewer than 15 persons sustained varying degrees of injuries in a multiple auto crash that occurred on Monday at Omoyele Junction along the Sagamu–Ikorodu Expressway in Ogun State.
The accident involved an unregistered Mack truck, a Toyota Highlander (registration number AKD 29 JZ), a Suzuki minibus (korope), and a motorcycle.
Spokesperson of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday in Abeokuta.
According to him, the crash resulted from excessive speeding by the truck driver, who lost control after the vehicle’s brakes reportedly failed, causing the truck to ram into the other vehicles.
Akinbiyi disclosed that the 15 injured persons, 12 males and three females, were immediately attended to by emergency responders, as TRACE operatives and the police carried out rescue operations. The affected vehicles were later towed away, restoring normal traffic flow to the area.
In a separate incident, a lone crash involving another truck loaded with containers occurred on Monday at Ijagun, along the Ijebu-Ode–Benin Expressway.
Akinbiyi said operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) rescued the victims and conveyed them to the General Hospital, Ijebu-Ode.
He added that the accident caused significant traffic disruption as the container-laden truck blocked the entire road. TRACE officials created a diversion at the Ijagun Express Junction to ensure movement for both inward and outward-bound motorists.
The TRACE spokesperson advised drivers to maintain safe speeds to avoid running into stationary vehicles and prevent avoidable crashes.
Meanwhile, Police in Ogun State have arrested a 24-year-old suspected cultist, one Sulaimon Laja, for allegedly terrorising residents of the Igbesa community in Ado-Odo/Ota council and its environs.
The suspect, who is a member of the Aiye confraternity, was said to have disguised himself to hide from the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed this to newsmen in a statement in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Tuesday.
Odutola said that on sighting the suspect in his fake appearance, the police immediately arrested and asked him to lead them to their hideout, where a thorough search led to the recovery of a single-barreled gun as an exhibit
She expressed further that the suspect confessed to cult related activities and crimes perpetrated by his group whom some of whose members were on the run, and also provided useful information to the police about their identity.
The Police PRO said that the command had, however, launched a manhunt for the fleeing members to ensure their quick arrest.
