A grieving family has accused state authorities of failing in their emergency response after a young woman died when a car plunged into the Lagos lagoon.

Relatives of the victim said officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Marine Police were present at the scene but made no serious attempt to rescue the victim or recover her body.

“They were neither trained nor equipped to handle the situation,” a family member lamented.

The family added that local fishermen who identified the exact spot where the car sank demanded N400,000 before diving in to retrieve the body. Desperate to give their daughter a proper burial, they eventually paid the money.

The development has triggered renewed calls for the government to strengthen emergency response systems, particularly in water-related disasters. Observers urged the Lagos State Government to train and equip local divers and fishermen as first responders, while relatives appealed for a system where “money is not placed above humanity in moments of tragedy.”

When contacted, LASTMA spokesperson Mr Taofik Adebayo stated that the agency does not conduct rescue operations.

“Whenever there is an emergency like that, we call on the relevant agency,” he explained. “For example, if a petrol tanker explodes, we quickly draw the attention of the Lagos State Fire Service, and if it is a heavy truck that broke down, we call the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).”