The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency has issued a stern warning to truck drivers following a disruptive protest that paralysed movement along the Ogere section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday.
The gridlock, which lasted several hours, was triggered after some truck drivers blocked the busy corridor to protest the earlier arrest of their vehicles by a joint task force operating in the area. The task force team comprises the police, the army, TRACE operatives and transport union members.
TRACE spokesperson, Babatunde Akinbiyi, said the enforcement team had earlier impounded three trucks for illegal double-parking, a persistent infraction that frequently obstructs traffic despite the availability of multiple trailer parks within the axis.
According to him, one of the arrested drivers shunned the official procedure for retrieving his vehicle and instead mobilised colleagues to stage a protest that worsened congestion along the Ogere-Sapade stretch.
Akinbiyi said the driver, identified as operating a Dangote truck, had stormed the task force office around 07:00 hours “spitting fire and brimstone” in an attempt to forcibly secure the release of his vehicle.
He noted that the driver exhibited “high-handedness, irrational and uncompromising behaviour,” despite being informed that documentation and sensitisation processes for release would commence at 08:00 hours. The driver subsequently left in anger and was said to have instigated fellow truckers to cause further disruption.
Akinbiyi stated that the orchestrated blockade endangered road users, delayed travel time and was seemingly intended to embarrass the state government. He added that calm was restored after senior officers of the task force and community stakeholders intervened.
“Orderliness has been restored through the intervention of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunnowo; the Seriki Hausawa of Ogere; and the acting TRACE Commander General and CEO, Omonayajo Elias, who ordered the release of the apprehended trucks,” Akinbiyi said.
The trucks were subsequently handed over to the Seriki Hausawa and transport union leaders to ease rising tensions.
Although the road has since been reopened, TRACE said vehicular movement remains slow due to the traffic backlog.
The agency reiterated its commitment to strict enforcement of traffic regulations, especially as the year approaches its peak travel period. Fleet operators and articulated vehicle drivers were urged to maintain safety standards that protect lives and property.
Similarly, the spokesperson for the Ogun Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Afolabi Odunsi, confirmed the protest and its impact. He said the blockage resulted in hours-long congestion but was eventually cleared after intervention by security agencies and community leaders.
Odunsi added that batteries earlier seized by TRACE had been returned, and the protesting drivers agreed to withdraw their vehicles from the expressway. Personnel from the Ogere unit command, he said, were still managing the residual traffic to restore full flow.
Source: Punch Newspaper
