The Sagamu-Benin Expressway again claimed about 15 lives in an early morning crash on Monday.


The road linking the South-West to the South-East and South-South has claimed uncountable lives mainly due to its deplorable state.


Our correspondent learnt that the victims were on their way from Lagos when their vehicle collided with an oncoming truck just after Ijebu Ode.


A source said the driver of the 18-seater bus was trying to overtake a stationary lorry when the accident occurred.


An eyewitness said the driver of the bus with number plate XW 375 AKD was driving on the wrong lane. The driver of the bus, who died with his two legs badly crushed, was overtaking the stationary truck when he collided with the oncoming truck.


The vehicle was squeezed in-between the truck, with Lagos number plate XW 856 JJJ and the stationary vehicle. Only one person, whose name could not be immediately ascertained, survived the accident.


About 10 lifeless bodies were pulled out of the bus by sympathisers and motorists in the accident that caused a severe traffic gridlock which lasted several hours.


There was no visible presence of emergency personnel to help the victims until about two hours later when passersby had evacuated and rushed some of the unconscious victims to an unnamed hospital.


FRSC officials, who claimed they got the information “very late,” later evacuated three lifeless bodies that were left at the scene including the driver of the bus who died instantly after 12 other lifeless bodies were taken away by sympathisers.


On August 6, 2007, the then Minister of Works, now Petroleum Minister, Alison-Madueke, had while on a visit to the collapsed road, reportedly wept bitterly because of its deplorable state.


She had said, “I am actually very, very unhappy today at what I have seen. I am very displeased that this road was allowed to degenerate to this level. The deplorable state that I have found this road in is inhuman and unacceptable.”


Also, a former Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash, had said during his inspection tour of the road in April 2010, that the N9.7bn contract for the road would be completed in November 2011.


He had described the road as “the worst on the planet and one of the most notorious in the world.”


Scores of Igbo traders, who were going back to the South-East zone in a luxury bus, also recently met their gruesome death near Odogbolu, in Ogun State, along the road.


Eighteen persons were also killed on Thursday, January 20, 2011, following an accident involving an 18-seater bus, a truck and several other vehicles near Okada Junction in Ovia North East Local Government area of Edo State.


Eastern highlife artiste, MC Loph, famed for his hit single ‘Osondi Owendi’, lost his life early September, when he crashed his Sports Utility Vehicle along the infamous road on his way to Anambra from Lagos.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201110183564234

When will all this carnage end on our roads? The government should please do something fast about this. December is here and a lot of people will be travelling on these road. Let us all cry out to God to touch the hearts of our leaders and let them have pity on us and do something about our roads.

Another 15 added to the long list of avoidable deaths

We don scream widen the road to 10lanes at least since forever. Still, they are on slow motion construction, patching and graveling.

RIP to the dead.

This is careless and avoidable deaths. It is so sad that the government has refused to fix up that road. What will it actually cost to put the road in order and expand it too. I really expected Tony Anenih to do the road when he was the Minister of works during OBJ regime

As usual . . . deaths everywhere!

High_Chief:

This is careless and avoidable deaths. It is so sad that the government has refused to fix up that road. What will it actually cost to put the road in order and expand it too. I really expected Tony Anenih to do the road when he was the Minister of works during OBJ regime

i heard the road is fixed though.unless you are talking about expansion.

^^^Some people are saying the road is in a very terrible state. Given the volume of the usage of that road, its only fair they expand the road to as much as 6 lanes. Honestly, so many lives have been lost on that road.

RIP to the victims.