The Federal Road Safety Corps has described the 200-metre stretch scene of the recent tanker explosion at Tollgate, Sango-Ota, Ogun State, as a black spot, saying 33 persons were killed at the spot in the last five years.
The state sector command of the corps stated that during the period, 338 persons were injured out of 1,245 people involved in the crashes.
The report was released on Saturday on the backdrop of the November 14 tanker explosion which claimed three lives and injured five others. One of the deceased died from burns at a hospital.
About 17 vehicles were burnt in the fire with property worth N269m lost to the crash, said the FRSC.
The state Sector Commander, Mr Clement Oladele, on Saturday disclosed the record in a statement containing the report of investigation carried out on the tanker explosion.
Oladele said the FRSC routine road audits of the Lagos-Abeokuta corridor recommended re-engineering of the old Tollgate area notorious for frequent crashes to eliminate the sloppy gradient usually preventing vehicles, especially articulated vehicles with break failure from crashing into passengers waiting to board vehicles to Lagos or other parts of Ogun State.
He said, “A total of 140 road traffic crashes were recorded on the about 200-meter-stretch of the old Tollgate Ota, Ogun State in the last five years from January 2014 to October 22, 2019. With the same period, a total of 397 vehicles were involved which resulted in 33 deaths with a total of 1,254 persons involved in these crashes and 338 injured victims were rescued alive.
Commenting on the tanker fire, the sector commander said the crash and many others in the state would have been prevented if safety practices were strictly adhered to.
The FRSC boss also debunked the claim that officials of the corps were responsible for the accident.
“From the findings, there is a great suspicion that the burnt tanker belongs to a major oil marketer in Nigeria. Even though the tanker got burnt, diligent investigation by the professional FRSC crash investigators showed the markings and colours on the burnt tanker,” he added.
Oladele said a manhunt had been launched to arrest the tanker driver to facilitate his prosecution and seek compensation for the accident victims.
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