Gridlock as wheat-laden truck falls on Otedola bridge in Lagos

A wheat-laden truck has tumbled over on the Otedola bridge in Lagos.

In the early hours of Tuesday, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) announced that the accident and rainwater had caused severe traffic on and around the bridge.

The Otedola bridge is the gateway to Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and commercial capital.

“A fatal accident involving an upturned loaded (wheat) truck that has taken a lane on Otedola bridge in Ojodu Berger,” the agency wrote on its X page.

“Traffic is a bit slow coupled with the flooded portion of the bridge. Effort is on for the recovery of the contents and the truck from the road.”

Gboyega Akosile, the chief press secretary to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos, said joint efforts by LASTMA, police and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) was ongoing to restore sanity to the area.

“Otedola bridge this morning. Please plan your journey. A combined effort of LASEMA, LASTMA, and police is going on to restore normalcy,” he said.

Following the incident, TheCable reached out to LASEMA to confirm the number of fatalities in the accident. The agency is yet to respond as of the time of filing this story.

It is not the first time the Otedola bridge has witnessed an auto crash that has exacerbated traffic into and out of Lagos. In 2018, at least 12 persons were pronounced dead after a petrol-laden tanker exploded on the bridge and incinerated cars holed up in traffic.

In 2021, seven vehicles were burnt following an accident on the bridge.

A year prior, two persons were killed when a granite-laden articulated truck collided with a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) on the same stretch.