Another bloody Wednesday, another Dangote truck. This time, at Ozalla Four Corner Junction along the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, a cement-laden trailer flattened cars and commuter buses, leaving families shattered and lives cut short. Among the dead were staff of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital and an entire family reportedly crushed beyond recognition.
This is not an isolated tragedy. From Okene to Edo to Enugu, Dangote trucks have become synonymous with carnage on Nigerian highways. In April, 19 people perished on the Okene–Lokoja highway after a collision with a Dangote vehicle. Only weeks ago, in Edo State, a Dangote truck mowed down Ruth Otabor, the sister of Big Brother Naija winner Phyna. The pattern is chilling, the excuses predictable, and the accountability absent.
How many more Nigerians must die before the government acts? The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), and state transport agencies have all failed in their duty to protect road users. Year after year, they announce campaigns, threaten sanctions, and then retreat into silence while overloaded, poorly maintained trailers barrel down highways with impunity.
Dangote Group, as Africa’s largest conglomerate, cannot wash its hands of this blood. Corporate fleets must be held accountable. Truck drivers must face stricter licensing. Vehicles must undergo mandatory roadworthiness tests. And above all, regulatory agencies must enforce the laws they are paid to uphold.
Nigerians are not statistics. They are mothers, fathers, children, breadwinners — cut down on journeys that should have ended in safety. Viral videos of mangled buses and lifeless bodies should not be the price we pay for corporate profit and regulatory negligence.
Every fresh accident involving these trucks is not just an unfortunate mishap; it is evidence of a broken system. Unless urgent reforms are enacted, more families will be wiped out, and more communities will bury loved ones lost to preventable carnage.
The blood on our highways cries out for justice. The question is: will those in power finally listen?
