Tragedy struck the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday after a speeding tipper truck rammed into a fully loaded commercial bus, killing seven passengers and leaving 11 others injured.

The fatal accident occurred around 3:08 p.m. at the Conoil axis of the expressway, on the Lagos-bound carriageway in Ogun State.

The crash involved an 18-seater white Toyota commercial bus with registration number APP 733 YN and a Sinotruck tipper bearing number plate DED 348 XC.

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) confirmed the casualty figures in a statement issued on Thursday.

The agency’s spokesperson, Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed that the seven people who died comprised two males and five females, while the 11 injured passengers included five males and six females.

According to Akinbiyi, eyewitness accounts indicated that the tipper truck suddenly joined the expressway and collided with the moving commercial bus.

The impact was devastating, leaving the bus badly damaged and trapping some passengers inside the wreckage.

Videos from the scene showed some victims lying motionless on the road as distressed bystanders watched, while other people made frantic efforts to rescue passengers trapped inside the mangled vehicle.

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Emergency responders subsequently evacuated the injured passengers to Ishara General Hospital and other medical facilities for treatment.

The bodies of the deceased were deposited at the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State.

TRACE disclosed that its operatives, alongside personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), responded to the accident and worked to manage the situation.

A towing team was also contacted to remove the damaged vehicles from the expressway.

The agency later confirmed that the vehicles had been evacuated, restoring normal traffic movement along the affected section.

Reacting to the tragedy, TRACE commiserated with the families of the deceased and urged motorists to exercise greater caution when driving on highways.

The agency particularly warned truck drivers against excessive speeding and reckless driving, stressing the need for vigilance when joining major roads.

The latest crash has renewed concerns about road safety on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, one of Nigeria’s busiest transport corridors, which regularly carries heavy commercial and passenger traffic.

Motorists have repeatedly been urged to maintain safe speeds, observe traffic regulations and exercise caution, particularly around highway entry points and busy intersections.

The Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, has reserved judgment in an appeal seeking the reassignment of the ongoing Offa robbery case involving former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and two former aides to another judge.

The appellate court, presided over by Justice Ridwan Maiwada Abdullahi, reserved judgment on Thursday, November 12, 2026, after hearing arguments from lawyers representing the parties.

The appeal, filed by Alabi Olalekan against the People of Kwara State, with Saraki, Ahmed and Yusuf Abdulwahab listed among the other parties, challenges aspects of the proceedings before the Kwara State High Court.

The appellant is asking the Court of Appeal to direct the Chief Judge of Kwara State to transfer the case to another judge, raising fresh questions about the handling of the criminal proceedings arising from the deadly April 5, 2018, Offa bank robbery.

At Thursday’s sitting, counsel to the appellant, J.A. Mumini (SAN), informed the court about the processes already filed, including the appellant’s brief of argument and pending applications.

However, Mumini withdrew a motion for an interim injunction seeking to restrain the continuation of proceedings at the trial court.

Counsel to the Kwara State Government, Chief R.O. Balogun (SAN), also withdrew the counter-affidavit filed in opposition to the application.

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Following the withdrawals, the appellate court struck out the motion seeking to stop the continuation of the trial.

The proceedings subsequently shifted to the substantive appeal and a preliminary objection filed by the prosecution.

Balogun adopted the preliminary objection filed on November 9, 2026, urging the appellate court to strike out the appeal.

He challenged the appellant’s reliance on a document contained on page 1,146 of the appeal records, arguing that it lacked proper certification, a receipt and the signature and name of the judge who purportedly signed the ruling.

The prosecution counsel also argued that granting the request to transfer the case to another judge would establish a bad precedent.

According to him, the circumstances surrounding the trial court’s decision to order the arraignment of the defendants did not provide sufficient grounds for seeking the reassignment of the case.

He therefore urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal.

In response, Mumini adopted a counter-affidavit filed on November 11, 2026, opposing the prosecution’s preliminary objection.

He also adopted the appellant’s brief of argument and urged the court to grant the appeal by directing the Chief Judge of Kwara State to reassign the proceedings to another judge.

Counsel representing the other respondents indicated that they had no objection to the appellant’s prayers.

After listening to the arguments, Justice Abdullahi reserved judgment on the substantive appeal.

The latest development adds another layer to the legal complications surrounding the Kwara State Government’s prosecution of Saraki, Ahmed and two former aides over the 2018 Offa robbery.

The case has been characterised by preliminary objections, applications and appeals, delaying the commencement of the substantive trial.

In a related development, the Kwara State Government recently amended its original 20-count charge against the four defendants, dropping 18 counts and retaining two while introducing two additional counts.

The amended four-count charge includes allegations bordering on conspiracy to belong to a gang of thieves, membership of such a gang, and the alleged concealment or disappearance of a vehicle said to have been used for an unlawful purpose.

The development followed the government’s decision to revise the original charges, which had included allegations relating to armed robbery and other offences connected with the deadly incident.

Saraki and the other defendants have not been convicted in the fresh proceedings and remain entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence.

The Offa bank robbery occurred on April 5, 2018, when armed attackers stormed several commercial banks and a police station in Offa, Kwara State.

The attack resulted in the deaths of several people, including police officers, and became one of the most notorious bank robbery incidents in Nigeria.

Five principal suspects were convicted by a Kwara State High Court in September 2024, with their convictions subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The fresh proceedings involving Saraki, Ahmed, Abdulwahab and Olalekan are separate from the trial that resulted in those convictions.

The judgment now awaited from the Court of Appeal concerns the request to transfer the fresh proceedings to another judge and the prosecution’s objection to the appeal. It does not determine the guilt or innocence of the four defendants.