Tanker drivers protests on Lagos-Ibadan expressway; ...motorists stranded for 13 hours!

Hundreds of motorists travelling on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were stranded for almost 13 hours between late Wednesday and Thursday following a protest by tanker drivers who blocked the highway.

The protesters were said to have blocked the highway at the Ogere end of the expressway at about 11.00 p.m. on Wednesday.

The incident started when some policemen were alleged to have shot at the tyres of a tanker with registration number JIGAWA XC 405 DUT which was said to have loaded petroleum product.

Confirming the development, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, said that a policeman in transit attached to a VIP shot at the tyres of the tanker loaded with fuel.

The PPRO said: “We understand that a policeman attached to a VIP shot at tyres of a fuel tanker. As I speak to you, I can tell you authoritatively that the policeman is not from the Ogun State command.

“In their usual manner, other drivers blocked the road in solidarity. The police, led by the command’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abdulkadir, swung into action immediately.

“We engaged them in negotiations and they have agreed to take their tankers off the road.”

Meanwhile, the Ibadan-Lagos axis of the road has been opened as the drivers are already removing their tankers.

The Ogun State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Ayobami Omiyale, had instructed motorists on both axes to make use of alternative routes.

He said that motorists travelling from Abeokuta to Lagos should make use of the Sango Ota route while those going to Ibadan, Lagos, Sagamu, Ore and Benin should to ply Ikorodu road.

Some of the passengers said they had spent many hours in the gridlock and called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of tanker drivers blocking the highway.