How bad roads, drug abuse, weak truck checks fuel Lagos

…Operators blame lack of heavy-duty inspection centres, poor enforcement

Stories by Steve Agbota

In recent times, Lagos State has experienced a troubling rise in incidents of falling containers, a growing trend that has become both persistent and a major concern for road users.

Unlatched containers carrying goods often fall off articulated trucks and crash onto the road, sometimes landing on unsuspecting road users going about their daily activities. The consequences are frequently severe, resulting in fatalities, serious injuries, maiming, and in some cases, instant death.

Port operators attribute the recurring menace to a combination of factors, including speeding, sharp bends and curvy bridges, poor road conditions, drug use among drivers, inadequate truck maintenance below safety standards, overloading, and weak safety awareness. They also allege that Lagos State lacks dedicated inspection centres where heavy-duty trucks are properly tested and certified before operating on the roads.

Daily Sun gathered that several parts of Lagos have become recurring hotspots for container-related accidents, with frequent incidents recorded along Ojuelegba Bridge, Ijesha, Mile 2, Agboju, Daleko Bridge, Olu-Aina Roundabout, Oke Afa–Jakande Gate, Okota Roundabout, Ikotun, Berger Bridge, Trade Fair, and the Ijora axis.

Notably, the Ojuelegba axis has gained notoriety over the years for repeated container accidents that have claimed lives and left many residents injured, underscoring the persistent safety risks along the corridor.

Containers always fall off the bridge and land on unsuspecting persons, oftentimes killing them instantly. All the wailing and reportage that follows does not stop another incident from happening over time.

Mile 2 area of the city and the entire stretch of Apapa-Oshodi expressway, as well as the Mile 2-Badagry expressway and other areas near the wharf, are also zones of falling containers.

During that period, it was reported that three containers fell in the Ikeja, Ojuelegba and Mile 12 areas of the state. All three of these incidents happened in one day in Lagos.

Just last month, three persons narrowly escaped death when a 40-foot containerised truck toppled onto a car at Daleko Bridge inward Isolo, with emergency responders arriving swiftly to avert a fatal outcome.

On arrival at the scene, it was discovered that the container detached from a tow truck while ascending the bridge due to a mechanical failure traced to a broken turntable. The container subsequently fell sideways onto a Toyota Camry, leading to a temporary closure of vehicular movement on the bridge.

In the same month, scores of commuters and Ladipo traders escaped death when a cargo-laden 40ft container fell off a truck in Lagos. The incident happened at the popular Oke Afa, Ejigbo Local Government, during the peak period.

However, the container accidents have claimed so many lives, especially in Lagos State. For instance, a container-laden truck has crushed a female bike rider to death at Sifax, inward Iganmu Bridge, in Lagos, while an empty 40ft container has claimed two lives in an accident at Ijesha area of the state.

In 2020, an empty 40ft container claimed two lives in an accident at the Ijesha area of Lagos. On arrival at the scene, he said it was discovered that a truck loaded with an empty 40ft container, which had brake failure, had rammed into a stationary commercial truck and fallen.

In 2021, four people were rescued alive after a container fell on their car at Ojuelegba,

In 2023, it was yet another sad moment in Lagos on Sunday when a 20-foot container on an articulated truck fell on a minibus and crushed nine people to death in the Ojuelegba area of the state. Not the first of its kind, especially in the area, the gory images from the accident this time around were heartbreaking.

Tragically, in 2025, two people, a serving police officer and a female passenger, were killed instantly in Ijora, Lagos, when an articulated vehicle carrying a 40-foot container lost control and crushed their commercial tricycle beneath the Ijora Bridge. Two others, including the tricycle rider, were severely injured.

Speaking with Daily Sun, the Secretary General of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), Mohammed Sani Bala, said that several factors are responsible for the fall of laden containers across Lagos State.

He identified such factors as driver over-speeding, curvy bridges, bad roads, drug abuse, poor maintenance of trucks below minimum safety standards, lack of safety education, overloading, sharp road bends, non-application of container twistlocks by drivers to properly secure containers on trucks, and the cutting of truck brake air hoses by hoodlums to immobilize trucks and extort money from drivers, among others, have been identified as major causes of containers falling from trucks in transit.

“As a safety-oriented Association, the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, terminal operators, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS), has continued to rigorously campaign for enhanced compliance with safety rules and regulations to reduce to the barest minimum the rate of accidents involving containerized trucks for the protection of lives and property on our roads.

“The collaboration between AMATO and relevant authorities, agencies, and stakeholders has significantly assisted in reducing incidents of containers falling from trucks in transit. Nevertheless, AMATO will not rest on its oars, as we will continue to educate and engage our members on the importance of complying with safety rules and regulations, especially the proper application of container twistlocks to secure containers on trucks and the proper latching of non-containerised cargoes to prevent them from falling onto the roads,” he said.

According to him, if drivers properly apply container twistlocks after loading containers at the ports, containers cannot fall while the truck is in motion because they are securely fastened to the truck chassis.

He said there are also latching belts and chains used for securing non-containerised cargo such as jumbo bags, iron coils, steel plates, wooden boxes, and other heavy cargoes to prevent them from falling while the truck is in transit.

“Where a truck falls together with the container or cargo on the road, it indicates that the container was properly hooked and secured with twistlocks. However, where the container and truck fall apart separately on the road, it clearly indicates that the driver failed to properly apply the container twistlocks before moving the truck from the port,” he said.

He said that the task of promoting the safety of lives and property on our roads is a collective responsibility of the government, safety enforcement agencies, and haulage operators.

“While we continue to engage our truck drivers through retraining programmes on the mandatory application of container twistlocks, avoidance of over-speeding, prevention of overloading, abstinence from drug abuse, and strict compliance with safety rules and regulations, government must also play its role by fixing bad roads that contribute to truck accidents, addressing the menace of hoodlums cutting truck brake air hoses on the roads and stop the use of spots close to the bridge as bus stops,” he explained.

Similarly, he said that safety enforcement agencies must enforce zero tolerance for violations of safety rules and regulations by drivers and haulage operators in order to ensure safer roads and seamless movement of cargo across the country.

Another truck owner, Olatunji Oni, also blamed bad roads and poorly-maintained vehicles for the incidents, contending that people had imbibed bad attitudes that see hoodlums dragging the wheels with truck drivers while the vehicles are in motion.

“Vehicles are parked, loading passengers at unauthorised places; this usually causes accidents. We will blame the government for not enforcing traffic rules and ensuring that roads are in good condition,” he said.

“You see, sometimes, I wonder why vehicles were issued roadworthy certificates, and heavy-duty trucks permits and all sorts of tests were claimed to have been conducted before issuing these certificates, yet they were not done. The government should be blamed for issuing certificates for vehicles that are not roadworthy,” he said.

He lamented that there is no inspection centre where heavy-duty trucks are inspected before the roadworthiness certificate is issued to anybody, saying that the officer in charge of these inspection centres collects kickbacks and issues the certificate even without seeing the truck.

“The truth must be told, the government doesn’t check anything. Let the Lagos State government come out to tell us the inspection point where heavy-duty trucks are inspected before they are issued road-worthiness certificates.

“Let them come out and say where. They have not been conducting any checks, yet they have been collecting money. It has been revenue generation, and that is why we are experiencing all of these menaces.

Meanwhile, a clearing agent, Ahmad Yesif, blamed terminal operators for always loading trucks that don’t have fixed locks.

He called for the removal of hoodlums who he said were in the habit of removing trucks’ batteries while in motion, and tampering with truck brakes.

He expressed sadness with enforcement agencies attacking truckers and shattering windshields just because the drivers refused to give them money.

“The government must be committed to ensuring the safety of lives and property in Lagos, and they need to continue to work tirelessly to prevent such accidents and minimise their impact,” he said.