Traders cheat death as trailer rams into shops in Lagos

It was only by divine providence that no life was lost Thursday evening when a trailer rammed into some shops at the Shogunle area of Lagos, after developing mechanical faults.

People who witnessed the inci­dent told Sunday Sun that the driver of the articulated truck, commonly known as trailer, attempted unsuc­cessfully to enter the road by the traffic light at the Ladipo junction where the road slopes slightly on the Agege Motorway. The driver then made efforts to park the vehicle by the side of the road, but the brakes were said to have failed, causing the heavy vehicle to roll backwards and broke through some nearby shops.

A young man who lives close to the scene of the accident recounted how it happened: “As it was trying to go up the slight slope, it was as if something was moving it back. It seemed the brake was not okay. So as the driver was pressing the brake, it was not working. It was moving back until it hit the shops. We thank God that it didn’t kill anybody. It is a miracle because people always sit in front of those shops. And most of the time, people would be in that very spot, fetching water from the tank (which was also affected). Everybody is saying that it is a miracle that it didn’t kill anybody. We thank God.”

Another eyewitness who gave her name as Sarah and sells fruits on the same side of the road claimed that the vehicle first stopped in front of her shop before moving further back and crashed into the other shops.

Her words: “This motor does not have brake and it is too old. It is not safe to run on the road. The government should know vehicles that should be put on the road. The vehicle is not good at all. When it stopped, the driver ran away saying that the brake was not good. Some workers from the company also testified that the vehicle was not in good order. They are supposed to be maintaining the vehicle because of the kind of cargo that it carries. This hill is not even that much, but because the trailer is bad, it could not make it up that small hill.”

Also on site were officials of the Lagos State Traffic Manage­ment Authority (LASTMA) who explained to our reporter that they were waiting for the police before they can commence the removal of the trapped vehicle from the road.

The LASTMA zonal head, PWD, Mr. Daboh Akiola told Sunday Sun that they were yet to ascertain the cause of the accident. “We are yet to find out. The driver absconded. He was afraid because the people could have lynched him. So he had to escape to preserve his life first. The vehicle was trying to climb a slope, but found it a bit difficult. Owners of such vehicles should put them in order and ensure that they are in good condition before putting them on the road. It may have been a mechanical fault. Our concern now is how we can remove the vehicle. We are waiting for the police to come.”

Meanwhile, there was confusion as the people whose properties were affected protested the removal of the trapped vehicle from the site, insisting that the owner of the trail­er must first enter into an agreement with them before the vehicle would be removed. Incidentally, the com­pany has its premises on the same stretch of road where the accident happened. The police assured them that the vehicle would be moved to Alausa and they (the affected shop owners) were expected to come forward to give their statements later. However, the affected shop owners refused, saying that it was not the first time that they were get­ting such promise from the police.

According to them, the trail­ers that regularly come from the same premises were always faulty and had crashed into the shops around that area on two previous occasions. Yet, they had not been able to get anything in the form of compensation from the company.

In fact, they even claimed that the last time the same thing happened, that security officials handling the matter betrayed them and allegedly took money from the owner of the business and swept the matter under the carpet, leaving the affected businesses without any compensation.