•Perennial carnage on the popular Kara Bridge along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway puts commuters, others on edge

Tessy Igomu

Its name evokes an eerie type of feeling in motorists and other road users.

Kara Bridge, which stands in the border between Lagos and Ogun states along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, is an unavoidable access route for motorists coming into or travelling out of Lagos.

Though devoid of potholes and craters that usually plague others like it, it is an embodiment of tears, sorrow and death.

Over the years the bridge has earned a strong reputation as one of the most dangerous to ply in the Lagos area because of the nightmare motorists and other road users have been subjected to there. The memory it evokes in the minds of those that have witnessed several horrific events along the stretch sends fear down their spines.

It is one bridge on which people are consistently dispatched to their early graves, maimed for life or where they lose personal effects. Succinctly put, most motorists and travellers are of the opinion that Kara Bridge is jinxed. Not a few are those that ply it with trepidation.

Like a blood-sucking vampire, its thirst for blood seems insatiable and endless. Sadly, the unending spiral of deaths and bloodletting on this bridge in the form of road crashes lends credence to these postulations. Aside from being a harbinger of death, it is also home to armed robbers and other dangerous elements as they perpetrate nefarious activities on it daily, while the more horrible crimes are committed under the cover of darkness. Dismembered remains of humans have been spotted atop the bridge on several occasions, making it a no-go area for pedestrians once it is dark. Even those unfortunate to have their vehicles break down on the bridge have reportedly been viciously attacked by hoodlums whose hideouts are located underneath the bridge.

Though the series of accidents recorded on Kara Bridge could be said to be unexpected and somewhat avoidable, many people strongly believe that there is more to it than meets the eye. Others well aware of the bridge’s high accident profile believe it could be an abode of supernatural elements due to some paranormal happening linked to it.

Mysteriously, in June 2016, the river which flows under the famous Kara Bridge suddenly dried up. While one side was solidified, the other side of the river kept flowing freely. Green plants suddenly took over the water body, practically turning it to dry land. The place became a Mecca of sorts, with residents and people from different parts of Lagos trooping there to personally witness the dried portion, which once provided water for the Kara cattle and ram market. The somewhat murky river also served as a means of transportation for canoe owners to ferry passengers across to the other side. But during this strange occurrence, no canoe was able to ply the water; rather, the curious observers that flooded the banks of the river chose to throw caution to the wind by walking on the strange plants.

Residents of the area had noted that, before the mystery suddenly occurred, no one could dare the river without the help of a canoe. Whether in the rains or dry season, they maintained that the river consistently flowed at high tide, and many had drowned in the river after the boat ferrying them capsized. The mystery, which, according to residents, gradually cleared out just as it appeared, has remained an unsolved puzzle. Bewildered and still in shock, everyone that heard or witnessed the strange occurrence kept wondering what could have been responsible for such an unusual situation.

To many people, that strange happening, to an extent, validated the numerous deaths and carnage that take place on the bridge.

With at least one ghastly accident recorded on Kara Bridge weekly, concerned individuals are wondering when the carnage would stop.  

On January 31, 2018, a three-year-old baby and three adults lost their lives when the head of a container-laden truck detached from its mount and rammed into a motorcyclist and his two passengers. The truck then plunged into the river below. Three dead bodies were later recovered from the truck head and handed over to officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who moved them down to the morgue.

Earlier, on January 16, at least 60 passengers and motorists escaped death in an accident involving a trailer, a FRSC pick-up, four cars and three buses. Four persons sustained injuries in the accident, which caused a gridlock that extended to Ojota bus stop.

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On February 9, four people were confirmed dead while two others sustained severe injuries on the bridge. The accident involved a Sinotruck carrying a container and an Urvan commercial bus. The truck, with registration number KMC 47 ZB, said to be travelling to Lagos, hit the commercial bus from behind, forcing it off the road until it landed on the riverbank under the Kara Bridge.  

In December 2016, five people died and many others were injured in an early-morning multiple road mishap on the bridge. According to witnesses, about 55 people were involved in the accident, including 40 men and 15 women.

The incident took place after a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of diesel rammed into a stationary truck carrying brewery products.

The oil spill made the road slippery and caused multiple crashes. Not fewer than eight trucks and eight vehicles were involved in the multiple crash.

In the same December, another tanker lost control and rammed into a bus conveying 12 passengers, almost knocking it off the bridge. Thankfully, no life was lost, and those with injuries were treated at a nearby hospital.

On November 16, 2016, three persons were killed in a similar multiple accident that involved six vehicles, a car, three container-trucks and two tankers.

The accident was said to have been caused by a speeding trailer loaded with petroleum products, which ran into other vehicles, spilling its content on the road. This led to an explosion and the fire extended to other vehicles. Two days later, two people were confirmed dead in another accident involving a luxury bus, a Liteace bus, a Mazda bus and a Grand Cherokee SUV. The cause of the crash could not be ascertained.

Also, on July 23, 2017, a multiple accident claimed the lives of several people when an articulated truck lost its brakes, burst a tyre and ran into two commercial buses dropping off passengers at a bus stop

On November 17, 2017, five persons were killed and 19 injured in another multiple accident involving 16 vehicles on Kara Bridge. A diesel-laden truck was said to have spilled its content on the road and shortly after it left its trail of slippery fuel, another speeding truck reportedly slipped and rammed into a bus. Fourteen oncoming vehicles, including a bus conveying banana, also collided. Altogether, 53 persons were involved in the crash.

November 20, 2017, several people were fatally injured when a BRT bus hit a commercial bus from behind on Kara Bridge, outbound Berger bus stop. The site of the incident, which flooded the media, was gory as blood could be seen splattered on the road.  

These incidents are just a few of the many that have taken place on Kara Bridge.

Despite the varying opinions on the actual causes of tragic road crashes on Kara Bridge, one dominant factor listed by most road users has been the absolute recklessness and impunity displayed mostly by articulated vehicle drivers.

Adewale Ige, a commercial bus driver, maintained that, due to the wideness of Kara Bridge, most drivers tend to throw caution to the wind and speed with reckless abandon whenever they get there. This, he averred, makes them to lose total control of the vehicle when confronted with an emergency situation.

Speaking on the issue, which he said has been of concern to the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, the general manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, (LASEMA), Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, said it all boils down to recklessness and disobedience of road etiquette and traffic rules.

While advising motorists and road users to always be vigilant and cautious, he said directives were recently given by the governor for the agency to extend its operations to the bridge and beyond in order to ensure that lives are promptly saved once any auto crash or emergency situation occurs in that axis.