The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has earned a chilling reputation as Nigeria’s most dangerous road, and the statistics paint a devastating picture that goes far beyond any single headline-grabbing incident. While former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua’s recent survival of a fatal crash on this notorious stretch has captured international attention, the daily carnage on this highway tells a much larger story about infrastructure, safety, and the value of human life.
The Grim Statistics
The numbers surrounding the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway are staggering and reveal a public health crisis hiding in plain sight. According to recent data, 73 people died along the 127.6-kilometer stretch in just three months earlier this year. To put this in perspective, this 79-mile road is actually 37 miles shorter than London’s M25 orbital motorway, yet it produces a death toll that would be unthinkable on any major British roadway.
Over a 27-month period, the expressway has witnessed 11,396 people involved in 1,557 crashes, resulting in 645 fatalities and 3,964 injured individuals. These aren’t just statistics—they represent thousands of families torn apart, communities devastated, and a nation grappling with a preventable tragedy that unfolds with horrifying regularity.
The carnage isn’t limited to minor incidents. Nine people were killed in a single accident in February, while four died in another crash in March. The first quarter of 2025 alone saw at least 1,593 people die on Nigeria’s roads—just nine fewer than the total number of road fatalities across the entire United Kingdom for all of 2024.
A Preventable Crisis
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this ongoing tragedy is that the road itself is considered to be in good condition, according to reporting by The Guardian in Nigeria. The primary culprits behind the astronomical death toll are speeding and poor auto maintenance—both factors that could be addressed through proper enforcement and public awareness campaigns.
Reports describe a chaotic environment where animals roam freely as vehicles speed past, deep potholes appear without warning, and drivers perform risky overtaking maneuvers that put everyone at risk. The lack of adequate policing compounds these problems significantly. Very few police officers patrol the expressway, and when uniformed figures do appear roadside, they’re often collecting bribes rather than enforcing traffic laws.
Joshua’s Miracle Survival
Anthony Joshua’s experience on December 30, 2025, illustrates just how quickly tragedy can strike on this highway. The 36-year-old boxing champion was traveling in a Lexus SUV near Makun, just a short distance from the junction for Sagamu—his intended destination that day. According to authorities, the SUV is believed to have been traveling “beyond the legally prescribed speed limit” and lost control while making “an overtaking manoeuvre” before crashing into a truck parked on the side of the road.
CP Lanre Ogunlowo, Commissioner of Ogun State Police, confirmed the incident: “I can confirm an accident occurred and Anthony Joshua has been taken to hospital. A vehicle rammed into a stationary vehicle. Unfortunately, there were two fatalities. Anthony Joshua was treated by first-responders at the scene and then taken to hospital.”
The fact that Joshua survived while sitting mere inches from two friends who died in the crash—Sina Ghami and Kevin Latif Ayodele—underscores both the randomness of road accidents and the incredible fortune of his escape. Videos from the scene showed the boxer grimacing in pain as bystanders helped him from the mangled vehicle, a moment that could easily have ended very differently.
Joshua was rushed to the Duchess International Hospital in Lagos, named the best private hospital in Nigeria for the past two years, where he received a visit from his mother shortly after being admitted. He was reported to be in a “stable” condition with only “minor injuries,” though the possibility of rib and knee injuries was mentioned by someone in his inner circle.
The Human Cost
Joshua’s representative released a statement that captured the profound loss: “It is with the deepest and most profound sadness that we confirm, following a road traffic accident in Lagos, Nigeria earlier today, the death of Sina Ghami and Kevin ‘Lateef’ Ayodele. Both were close friends and integral members of Anthony’s team. We respectfully ask that space and privacy be given to the families at this time while they process this truly shocking and devastating news.”
These two men now join the hundreds who have lost their lives on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, each one leaving behind grieving families, unfulfilled dreams, and communities forever changed. Behind every statistic is a story—a person who left home that morning expecting to return, families waiting for loved ones who will never arrive, and the ripple effects of loss that extend far beyond the immediate victims.
A friend of Joshua’s captured the trauma of the experience simply: “He’s okay but badly shaken up. Nobody knows quite what damage has been done, but was able to escape the wreckage. Others weren’t quite so lucky so it’s been a traumatic ordeal which he’s trying to process.”
The Broader Context
The crash occurred as Joshua was visiting family in Nigeria as part of a one-week holiday, with plans to resume training ahead of a bout in late March, prior to his proposed fight against Tyson Fury in September or October. Now, there are serious questions about whether he will be in any condition for a quick return to the ring, despite his team’s insistence that he is stable.
Beyond the physical injuries, there is the question of psychological trauma. Witnessing two close friends die just inches away is an experience that would shake anyone to their core. This aspect of the accident has even prompted speculation that the boxer might retire from the sport that has earned him a nine-figure fortune, though such decisions are likely far from his mind as he processes the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.
Questions and Reforms
Joshua’s high-profile accident has thrust the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway into the international spotlight, raising urgent questions about how such preventable deaths continue to occur. Why, on a road considered to be in good condition, do people continue to die at such an alarming rate? What reforms are needed to bring enforcement to acceptable levels? How can Nigeria address the culture of speeding and poor vehicle maintenance that contributes to so many crashes?
The answers likely require a multifaceted approach: increased police presence focused on actual traffic enforcement rather than bribe collection, mandatory vehicle safety inspections, public awareness campaigns about speeding dangers, improved roadside barriers and signage, and perhaps most importantly, a cultural shift that prioritizes road safety over convenience and speed.
A Wake-Up Call
While Anthony Joshua’s survival may be miraculous, it should serve as a wake-up call rather than simply another celebrity news story. Every day, ordinary Nigerians navigate this highway of death, hoping they won’t become another statistic. Every day, families say goodbye to loved ones embarking on journeys along this road, uncertain if they’ll return safely.
The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway’s deadly reputation isn’t inevitable. With proper enforcement, maintenance, and public commitment to safety, this road could become just another thoroughfare rather than a daily death trap. The question is whether Joshua’s narrow escape and the mounting death toll will finally spur the reforms needed to prevent future tragedies, or if the highway of death will continue claiming its daily victim long into the future.
For now, Anthony Joshua counts himself among the fortunate few who have survived this treacherous stretch of asphalt. Sina Ghami and Kevin Latif Ayodele were not so lucky, joining the tragic roll call of lives lost on Nigeria’s most dangerous road—a road where, statistically speaking, someone else will die tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, until something fundamental changes.