Ojuelegba mishap: Lagos gov orders trial of truck owner, driver

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed the police to speed up investigation into Sunday’s truck accident at Ojuelegba, Surulere, which claimed the lives of nine persons.

Commiserating with the bereaved families, yesterday, via a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, the governor insisted that the truck’s driver, Sodiq Okanlawon, and owner, Wasiu Lekan, who are in police custody, must be prosecuted.

He said that the state’s Ministry of Transportation and Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) should meet urgently to find a lasting solution to the menace of falling trucks, and that all the laws governing the operation of trucks and related vehicles must be enforced with more vigour and diligence.

Identified victims of the accident include Blessing Isioma, Abdurahman Sunday, Felix Ifeanyi and Olatokunbo King. 
 
His words: “The Lagos State Government has zero tolerance for large containers that fall off trucks and injure or kill citizens going about their lawful businesses. The driver and the owner of thecontainer, which killed three persons on July 26, 2020, on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, Ilasamaja, were convicted on February 28, 2022, and sentenced to life by Hon. Justice Okikiolu Ighile.  

“The government will, in a similar manner, ensure that the driver and owner of the truck involved in the January 29 incident are put on trial for the needless death of our citizens.

“This, we hope, will send a strong message to those, who have no regard for other people’s lives, that Lagos will not condone their recklessness. They must be stopped, with the strong backing of our laws, because their actions offend our avowed commitment to safety and decency.”