Kunle Afod Raises Alarm Over Ambulance Delay After Ogun Expressway Crash

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Nollywood actor Kunle Afod has raised concerns over the response of emergency services following a serious road crash at Shapade along the Ibadan–Shagamu Expressway in Ogun State, saying accident victims were left waiting for emergency assistance when he arrived at the scene.

Afod shared a video of the accident on Instagram on Friday, November 6, showing a badly damaged yellow commercial bus and injured people at the scene.

In the video, the actor appealed to the Ogun State Government, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other emergency agencies to urgently respond to the crash.

Afod said he had been at the scene for about 20 minutes without seeing an ambulance or emergency response team arrive.

“It’s a terrible accident we came across on the way along the Ibadan–Shagamu Expressway right now, and it’s so sad that for about 20 minutes that we’ve been here there has been no ambulance, no emergency services to come and help them,” he said in the video.

The actor said several people were lying helplessly and claimed that attempts to contact emergency responders had not produced an immediate response.

He also appealed to other motorists and members of the public to assist the victims while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive.

“We urgently need the RESCUE TEAM to come to the aid of accident victims at Shapade, along the Ibadan–Shagamu Expressway, Ogun State,” Afod wrote in the accompanying Instagram post, warning that lives could be at risk.

However, his account of the delayed emergency response had not been independently verified at the time of reporting.

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) subsequently confirmed that a serious single-vehicle road traffic accident had occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the area covered by its Saapade Unit Command.

According to an official alert signed by TRACE spokesman Odutola Babatunde, traffic flow on the expressway was not affected by the incident, while TRACE operatives were monitoring the situation.

The agency said further details about the accident would be released as they became available.

At the time of the latest available report, there was no official confirmation from TRACE, the FRSC, the Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Services (OGSAES) or the police regarding the number of casualties, fatalities or identities of those involved.

This means claims circulating about a police officer being killed in the crash, or campaign supporters being among the victims, should not be presented as established facts without confirmation from the relevant authorities.

The incident is nevertheless likely to renew concerns about emergency response capacity along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other major highways, where the speed at which injured victims receive medical attention can be critical.

Ogun State has an established emergency response structure, including the Ogun State Ambulance and Emergency Services. Emergency agencies have previously responded to crashes on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, including a November 3 crash in which one person died and 15 others were injured. In that earlier incident, TRACE, the police, OGSAES and the FRSC were reported to have participated in rescue operations, with injured victims transported to hospital by OGSAES personnel.

The earlier crash demonstrates that emergency response services are operating along the corridor, although the effectiveness and speed of response can vary from one incident and location to another.

Afod’s latest intervention has therefore shifted attention from the circumstances of the Shapade crash to the broader question of how quickly ambulances and other emergency responders can reach victims on one of Nigeria’s busiest highways.

For road crash victims suffering severe bleeding, head injuries, fractures or other life-threatening conditions, delays in receiving medical care can have serious consequences.

Authorities are expected to provide further information about Friday’s crash, including the number and condition of the victims and the circumstances that led to the accident.

Until such details are officially released, the verified facts are that a serious crash occurred at Shapade on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Afod reported an apparent delay in the arrival of an ambulance, and TRACE confirmed the incident and said its personnel were monitoring the situation.