Residents of Lagos State have raised the alarm over the increasing recurrence of road accidents caused by youths returning from nightclubs.
The residents who spoke to PUNCH Metro lamented that the development had resulted in the loss of lives and property in recent times.
No fewer than four male adults have sustained severe injuries in an accident involving a Lexus car along Liasu road in the Idimu area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the accident occurred on Sunday at about 5am.
The vehicle was said to be moving at a top speed when it lost control, swerved off the road and rammed into a shop opposite a Catholic church in the area.
The impact of the crash also damaged a building behind the shop thereby affecting some of its occupants who were still asleep.
A similar incident also occurred at the Idimu bus stop after a silver Toyota Camry rammed into a shop in the early hours of Sunday.
While some residents in the area attributed the trend to reckless driving, others said it was not unconnected with heavy consumption of alcohol by the young drivers.
A resident of Isheri Olofin, Olumuyiwa Samson, lamented that the pattern of the accidents had become a regular sight in the community.
He said, “There is hardly any time you step out in the morning, especially between Fridays and Mondays, in this area, that you do not see one road accident or the other. And you could tell from the kind of vehicle you see at the accident scene that the driver was coming from the nightclub. These are sophisticated vehicles often driven by these so-called “yahoo boys”.
People have been killed in the process while some have lost their means of livelihood as a result of the damage it causes. The one that happened on Liasu Road totally destroyed the goods in the shop.”
Another resident, Bankole Alimi, said the incident might continue to recur until the perpetrators are dealt with according to the provisions of the law.
He said, “We are still having this discussion because those responsible for this act often go unpunished. Although some of the drivers lost their lives in the accidents, the ones who escape always find their way out of being punished for their actions. A particular driver who crashed into a property that got people injured, escaped and invited a military officer who came to intervene on his behalf. Some go as far as bribing the police to avoid being prosecuted.”
A Community Development Area chairman who pleaded anonymity said the accidents had also resulted in the damage of government properties in the area.
He said, “Most of the streetlights we have on our roads have been damaged as a result of accidents caused by these clubgoers. While some of them were damaged by trucks, these young drivers who returned from the nightclubs also contributed to what the streetlights have become.
“We have also observed that when some of them crash into them early in the morning, they quickly remove the vehicles from the spot before daytime. Some of them do not even have a driving licence.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotoso, could not be reached as calls made to his phone were not responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time this report was filed.
