Lagos Tanker Crash Spills 33,000 Litres of Groundnut Oil as Authorities Warn Public
Two significant road incidents recently caused major disruptions in Lagos, involving an overturned groundnut oil tanker and a multi-vehicle truck crash. Authorities issued stern warnings about consuming contaminated oil and urged motorists to prioritize road safety, with five people sustaining serious injuries in the second incident.
A tanker carrying 33,000 litres of groundnut oil overturned near Abiola Garden around Ojota Bridge on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, spilling its contents across the inward lane towards the Old Toll Gate. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, disrupted traffic and attracted residents, traders and food vendors who gathered to scoop the spilled oil. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) warned the public against consuming or selling the recovered oil, citing possible contamination from dirt, road pollutants and substances from drainage channels.
LASTMA General Manager Olalekan Bakare-Oki urged residents not to take the oil home for cooking or sell it to unsuspecting buyers, while preliminary security reports suggested that brake failure may have caused the crash. LASTMA deployed its rescue and recovery team and two heavy-duty tow vehicles to clear the expressway, with support from the police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, and Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency.
No casualties were reported in the tanker incident, although motorists were advised to use alternative routes during the recovery operation. The crash followed another truck accident on Tuesday at Berger Bus Stop, inward Kara Bridge, in the Ojodu area, where a 40-foot HOWO truck rammed into two commercial buses, a Mazda bus travelling interstate and a Toyota Hiace bus, as it exited Lagos. Five people sustained serious injuries: three women, two men, including one of the bus drivers.
LASTMA officials rescued the injured passengers and transported them to the Lagos State Emergency and Trauma Centre at the Toll Gate, accompanied by agency personnel. Police officers from Isheri secured the scene, while LASTMA officials worked to remove the damaged vehicles and ease traffic congestion that stretched as far as Otedola Bridge; the vehicles were later handed over to the police for investigation.
Bakare-Oki expressed sympathy to those injured in the Berger crash and urged motorists, particularly heavy-duty vehicle operators, to prioritise vehicle maintenance and comply with road safety regulations. The two incidents underscore the risks posed by heavy vehicles on Lagos roads and the importance of safe driving, prompt emergency response and public caution around crash sites.