A Daily Mail reporter who recently travelled along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has criticised driving behaviour on one of Nigeria’s busiest highways, saying that “the road itself is good enough to meet UK standards,” but that driver conduct falls far short of safe practice.
“The speed limit is 100 km/h, but drivers go far beyond that,” the reporter wrote.
“Driving discipline here is terrible. Trucks are overloaded and people cross the road carelessly. Ironically, the road itself is good enough to meet UK standards.”
The comments come amid mounting attention on Nigeria’s road safety record, sparked in part by a fatal crash on the same expressway on 29 December 2025, in which British boxing star Anthony Joshua was involved.
Recall Streetnet reported On 29 December, the former two-time world heavyweight champion was travelling as a passenger in a Lexus SUV on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway near Sagamu when the vehicle collided with a stationary truck in the midday hours.
Two of Joshua’s close friends and team members, Latif “Latz” Ayodele (trainer) and Sina Ghami (strength and conditioning coach), were killed instantly in the crash. Joshua suffered minor injuries and was quickly taken to a hospital in Lagos.
Emergency responders and medical staff treated the boxing star, and he was subsequently discharged from hospital on 31 December, deemed fit to recover at home in Nigeria. Joshua and his mother later visited a Lagos funeral home to pay their respects ahead of the repatriation of the victims’ bodies to the UK.
In the days that followed the tragedy, Nigerian authorities charged the SUV’s driver, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, with multiple offences including dangerous and reckless driving, causing death by dangerous driving, and driving without a valid licence.
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Kayode was arraigned at Sagamu Magistrate Court on 2 January 2026, granted bail set at five million naira, and is due to return to court on 20 January.
Police have said preliminary investigations suggest the vehicle exceeded the posted speed limit and lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre before striking the stationary truck, a scenario that has amplified local concerns about driving behaviour on major highways.