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Kara Bridge Crashes Trigger Hours-long Gridlock Stretching to Oshodi as FRSC Confirms One Death

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A series of crashes on the Kara Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway brought one of Nigeria’s busiest highways to a near standstill on Friday, with commuters reporting that the resulting traffic backlog stretched as far as Oshodi, several kilometres from the crash scene, before conditions gradually began to ease later in the day.

The scale of the disruption was captured in a widely shared eyewitness account on social media, where one commuter warned motorists heading from Oshodi towards Berger to abandon their journeys altogether.

“If you have anything from Oshodi towards Berger, just go back home and sleep. Today’s not that day. It’s a STANDSTILL,” the eyewitness wrote as traffic remained virtually at a halt.

When another road user sought an update at about 2 p.m., asking whether the situation had improved, the response suggested that movement had finally resumed, albeit slowly.

“It’s moving now,” the eyewitness replied.

The online accounts reflected the severe congestion that followed multiple crashes on the expressway during the early hours of Friday, with traffic spilling far beyond the immediate accident scene and affecting major approaches into Lagos.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos Sector Command, confirmed that the first crash occurred at about 12.05am on the outbound carriageway towards Ibadan and involved five articulated trucks and one Toyota Sienna.

According to the agency, preliminary investigations indicate that excessive speed and loss of control were responsible for the collision.

Seven adult men were involved. One person died, another sustained injuries, while five escaped unhurt.

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FRSC said recovery efforts were complicated because one of the heavily loaded trucks trapped the body of the deceased underneath it, making it necessary to deploy heavy-duty recovery equipment before evacuation could be completed.

While emergency workers were still battling the first incident, another crash occurred at about 3.15am on the inbound carriageway towards Lagos.

The second incident involved a Mazda commercial bus which, according to the FRSC, suffered brake failure.

The driver sustained serious injuries and was rescued by emergency responders before being taken to the Lagos State Accident and Emergency Centre for treatment.

The crashes left hundreds of motorists stranded for several hours as emergency responders worked to remove damaged vehicles and restore traffic flow.

FRSC said its rescue teams, alongside the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and other emergency services, were deployed to clear the road and recover the trapped victim.

Lagos Sector Commander, Corps Commander Kehinde Ganiyu Hamzat, sympathised with the families of the victims and appealed to motorists to remain patient and cooperate with traffic officials managing the affected corridor.

The command advised motorists to avoid the Kara-Ojodu Berger section where possible while recovery operations continued.

It recommended that motorists travelling out of Lagos towards Ibadan should divert through the Ikorodu-Sagamu route, while those heading into Lagos should consider entering the city through the Lekki-Epe Expressway or the Ikorodu-Sagamu Expressway.

The FRSC also reminded drivers, particularly operators of articulated vehicles and commercial buses, to ensure their vehicles are mechanically sound before travelling, with special attention to braking systems.

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It further advised motorists to avoid unnecessary night journeys, reduce speed during poor visibility, maintain safe following distances and take adequate rest to minimise fatigue-related crashes.

Traffic on the corridor had begun moving again by Friday afternoon, according to motorists on the route, although significant delays persisted after several hours of disruption caused by the overnight crashes.

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Shoot anyone with illegal firearms, IG orders police

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July 24, 2026

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The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has directed police officers across the country to shoot on sight anyone found carrying illegal firearms.

Disu gave the order at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Makurdi, Benue State capital, on Friday, July 24.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu had directed that insecurity in Benue must come to an end, emphasizing that only authorised security personnel were permitted to bear firearms.

He said that only authorised security personnel were legally permitted to bear firearms.

“You cannot move around freely carrying arms as if there is no law and order in this country. It will not be tolerated,” he said.

Disu disclosed that police officers had been empowered under Force Order 237 to respond decisively to armed threats without waiting for directives from superior officers.

The IG said, “We have given them instructions. We have a Force Order 237. Police officers have been instructed that they don’t need to wait for any superior order. They know where to deploy their firearms.

“We are tired of losing our men. We are tired of police officers, soldiers, and other members of the security agencies dying anyhow.

“They have been instructed to shoot at sight. They have been trained to do what is necessary. But we will not succeed without the cooperation of all of you.”

He called on residents to support security agencies with credible information, stressing that public cooperation remains critical to the fight against insecurity.

Benue State has suffered repeated attacks by armed groups in recent months.

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VIDEOS: Keyamo Orders Probe Into Enugu Air Runway Incident

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July 24, 2026

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Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has reacted to the crash-landing of an Enugu Air aircraft at Benin Airport in Edo State.

In a post shared on social media on Friday, Keyamo said he had directed all relevant agencies to work closely with Enugu Air to unravel the cause of the incident.

It would be recalled that the aircraft crash-landed at Benin City Airport on Thursday, following which Air Peace suspended all its flights to and from the airport after its runway was temporarily shut down due to a runway incursion.

Reacting to the development, Keyamo explained that he had been duly informed that the Enugu Air aircraft skidded off the runway after landing successfully, a situation referred to in aviation terminology as a “runway excursion.”

He added that everyone on board was safe, and that he had directed all relevant agencies to work closely with Enugu Air to determine the cause of the incident.

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US Congressman Renews Call For Nnamdi Kanu Release

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July 24, 2026

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A United States Congressman, John James, has renewed calls for the release of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

James made the appeal on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday, linking the IPOB leader’s continued detention to what he described as a pattern of religious persecution against Christians in Nigeria.

The Michigan lawmaker was referencing H.Res. 1321, a resolution he introduced on May 22, 2026, which calls on the Nigerian government to ensure that all legal proceedings involving Kanu comply with the country’s constitutional obligations and international human rights commitments.

The resolution remains before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at the podium, James described Nigeria as the deadliest place on Earth to be a Christian, alleging that tens of thousands of Christians have been k!lled since 2019 as part of a sustained pattern of religiously motivated violence by Islamist jihadists which he said the Nigerian government had ignored or enabled.

He added that extremist groups, including Boko Haram, operate without any meaningful response from Nigerian authorities.

Turning to Kanu’s case, James described the IPOB leader as a courageous figure convicted in what he called a farce show trial for speaking out against the k!llings.

He argued that Kanu, who is serving a life sentence on t3rrorism charges he characterised as false, deserves either a fresh, constitutionally compliant trial or unconditional freedom.

He urged his colleagues to support his bill, calling on the Nigerian government to either conduct a fresh trial in line with its own constitution with proper regard for evidence.

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Access to legal counsel, medical care and international standards on humane detention conditions or, better still, release Nnamdi Kanu immediately and unconditionally.

He further warned that continued US financial support for Nigeria could not go unchallenged, arguing that America gives billions of dollars to Nigeria and would not continue funding what he termed a Christian genocide, adding that the US had a moral obligation to ensure Christians in Nigeria could worship freely.

Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 20, 2025, by a Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice James Omotosho, following his conviction on t3rrorism charges.

He is currently held at the Correctional Centre in Kuje, Abuja, following his 2021 arrest in Nairobi, Kenya, and subsequent transfer to Nigeria.

The resolution James is championing cites a July 20, 2022, opinion by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found that Kanu’s detention violated international human rights obligations and recommended his release along with appropriate remedies.

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