At least five persons were injured in a traffic accident involving a fuel tanker and a commercial bus at Toyota Bus Stop, inward Oshodi in Lagos State.

According to a statement by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority on Friday, the incident occurred on Thursday, near The Guardian newspaper headquarters and involved a PMS-laden tanker with registration number T28128LA and a commercial Volkswagen T4 bus, GGE 526 YG.

The statement which was signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department of LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, noted that preliminary findings from Oloto Police Division indicated that the tanker experienced a sudden brake failure while on top speed and rammed into the moving bus, which was fully loaded with passengers.

LASTMA said its officers “executed an urgent, precise and seamlessly coordinated rescue operation” at the scene, rescuing five persons, three females and two males, including the bus driver.

“Acting with commendable precision, the rescue team secured the accident scene, extracted the injured, and mitigated the risk of secondary hazards,” the agency said.

While one of the victims was taken to a nearby hospital by a good samaritan, the Lagos State Ambulance Service and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s Rescue Unit conveyed the others to hospitals for emergency care.

Bakare-Oki, extended “profound sympathy to the victims” and expressed “heartfelt wishes for their full and speedy recovery.”

He blamed the accident on “brazen disregard for statutory speed limits, which are conspicuously signposted along Lagos highways,” stressing that proper speed regulation and vehicle maintenance could have prevented the crash.

He said, “Operators of articulated and heavy-duty vehicles particularly tanker drivers must maintain their machinery in flawless mechanical condition, with meticulous emphasis on the integrity of braking systems.”

Bakare-Oki also called on truck owners to “institutionalise rigorous and continuous training and retraining programmes for their drivers,” stating that “the sanctity of human life must remain the paramount consideration in all road transport operations.”