Lagos govt driver arrested over train-bus accident

Driver of a Lagos State Government staff bus that collided with a moving train on Thursday has been arrested, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said.

He said that the driver was arrested on Thursday and kept in the police custody.

Six persons died in the accident while about 80 injured persons were taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for treatment.

Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that the preliminary investigation showed the accident was caused by the bus driver’s error.

Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Fidet Okhiria, blamed the staff bus driver for the accident which occurred on the rail track around the Sogunle area of Lagos.

He said the staff bus driver refused to stop for the moving train.

He said, “According to the information I gathered at the scene of the incident, they said many cars stopped when they got to the level crossing while the Lagos State Staff Bus driver continued moving, which I don’t know why.

“Maybe the driver thought he could pass before the train got nearer to him. He could not pass, and then the train crushed the bus; that is what we gathered. The train was coming from Ijoko to Iddo.”