12/30/25 07:21:00
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12/30 06:02 CST Concerns over roads in Nigeria after crash that injured Anthony
Joshua and killed 2 associates
Concerns over roads in Nigeria after crash that injured Anthony Joshua and
killed 2 associates
By OPE ADETAYO
Associated Press
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) --- There were growing concerns about Nigeria's roads
following the deadly crash on Monday that injured British former heavyweight
champion Anthony Joshua and killed two close associates near Lagos.
Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist, was under
"observation" while recovering from minor injuries following the crash, his
promoter said Monday.
Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Corps said the accident along a major highway
connecting Lagos, the country's economic hub, and Ogun state was a result of
"excessive speed and wrongful overtaking," which had caused the car to collide
with a stationary truck by the roadside. Eyewitnesses say the vehicle's tire
had burst at high speed.
Joshua had recently won a bout against Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec.
19, a fight he used to improve fitness in a bid to contest future top-flight
boxing titles.
The former world heavyweight champion, who also holds Nigerian nationality, is
in "stable condition" and would remain in hospital for further "observation"
according to his promoter, Matchroom Boxing. Joshua's long-term friends and
team members, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, were killed in the crash, the
promoter said in a statement posted on X.
Ghami was Joshua's strength and conditioning coach while Ayodele was a trainer.
Just hours before the crash, Joshua and Ayodele posted clips on social media
playing table tennis together.
Concerns over frequent road crashes in Nigeria
The high-profile accident has prompted serious concerns about road safety on
Nigerian highways, where accidents are common.
The West African nation recorded 5,421 deaths in 9,570 road accidents in 2024,
according to data by the country's Federal Road Safety Corps. Its data showed
340 more people were killed in road accidents last year compared to 2023.
Experts say a combination of factors including a network of dilapidated roads,
lax enforcement of traffic laws, and indiscipline by drivers, produces the grim
statistics.
The stationary truck that Joshua's vehicle hit is a fixture of Nigeria's
thoroughfares, often causing massive gridlocks. Goods and food are transported
across Nigeria's vast geographical reach via these trucks, which experts say
tend to be in poor condition and are responsible for many accidents.
"The prevalence of accidents in Nigeria is a serious issue," Ache Ogu, the CEO
of the Road Accident Prevention Network Centre, an Abuja-based nongovernmental
organization, told The Associated Press. "Most of the trucks are not in order,
and the law enforcement agency needs to step up its efforts."
Monisola Abosede, a 27-year-old marketer who lives in Lagos and commutes
several kilometers every weekday for work, has been involved in two accidents
in December alone.
"In Lagos, everyone is in a rush to get somewhere; people are always on the
move," she told The AP, blaming crashes on the city's heavy traffic combined
with the bad state of its road network.
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