Tragedy struck in the Ojodu area of Lagos State, Tuesday afternoon, as a truck rammed into people, most of them students, killing many of them.
Eyewitnesses claimed that at least 10 students were crushed dead while many suffered various degrees of injury in an accident that sent people in the rush hour scampering first for safety, then racing to the scene to help surviving victims.
According to reports, the tragedy which occurred around 3p.m. happened along Isheri Road, just before the Ojodu Police Station.
The victims, according to the eyewitness, are students of the nearby Ojodu Grammar School.
There was no official confirmation of the casualty figures by security and emergency officials at the time of this report, though another eyewitness attested that at least “15 students are dead already” and the fatalities may still rise.
Although there is no official statement on the cause of the accident, The Guardian quoted a report by Eons Intelligence, an emergency alert provider, that said “reports indicate that activities of Road Safety and VIO led to an articulated vehicle losing control, killing several schoolchildren, injured others in Ojodu Berger Lagos, axis.”
The tragedy sparked an instant protest by angry Lagosians, many of whom spilled to the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to spew their anger over the avoidable tragedy.
Eons Intelligence warned that the “area is volatile with personnel from RRS using tear gas to disperse people. Avoid the area.”
Reports said some students have attacked and destroyed trucks and vehicles belonging to the VIO office in the area.
However, the police moved in quickly to restore order.
