…Victims trapped in tricycle as rescue teams face angry residents
A Dangote Cement truck has crushed five people to death in a fatal accident along the Papalanto–Ilaro Road in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The crash occurred at about 8:25 p.m. on Friday when the truck, said to have lost its brakes, rammed into an unregistered tricycle conveying the five victims.
Confirming the incident on Saturday, spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, said all the passengers in the tricycle died on the spot.
Mr Akinbiyi stated, “A fatal road traffic accident occurred at Alapoka Village, Papalanto–Ilaro Road, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State on Friday at 8:25 p.m. The accident involved an unregistered tricycle and a Dangote truck with the number plate GRZ 767 XA. The tricycle was conveying five people. The five people died on the spot.”
He added, “According to an eyewitness, the truck lost its brakes and rammed into the tricycle, but unfortunately the driver was not observant that he had collided with the tricycle until its tyre crushed the tricycle and the passengers.”
Upon receiving the report, the Acting TRACE Head, Mr Adedayo Omonayajo, and the Ilaro Divisional TRACE Commander, Mr Salako Idowu, led a rescue team to the scene.
However, the rescue operation nearly turned violent as aggrieved residents attempted to attack the officials. According to Mr Akinbiyi, “The Acting TRACE Head and the Ilaro Commander led a rescue team to the scene and were almost attacked by angry residents, but the intervention of the Amotekun Corps doused the tension. The presumed dead were taken to the morgue by Federal Road Safety Corps officials.”
The accident is the latest in a series of fatal crashes involving Dangote trucks across the country.
In November 2024, a multiple crash involving a Dangote truck in Lagos and Ogun States left four people dead and seven others injured. Similarly, in June 2021, a Dangote truck in Ogun crushed a commercial motorbike rider and passenger, prompting residents to set the truck ablaze.
