Heavy traffic and multiple accidents along the Osogbo-Gbongan road on Thursday left scores of travellers stranded for several hours, causing widespread frustration among motorists and commuters.
The traffic congestion, which extended between the Akoda and Sekona communities, reportedly lasted nearly four hours, with only limited intervention from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and security personnel.
Preliminary information indicates that several road crashes occurred before noon, although specific details remained unclear at the time of reporting. The Public Enlightenment Officer of the FRSC in Osun State, Agnes Ogungbemi, confirmed that some victims sustained injuries in one of the accidents and were taken to a private hospital in Ede.
She, however, declined to give casualty figures, stating that more information would be provided later.
Another crash occurred at the Sekona junction, where a truck traveling from Gbongan reportedly collided with a car, blocking the roadway and disrupting movement towards Moro and Ife.
Around midday, two military personnel and a few FRSC operatives were seen attempting to manage the situation.
Many travellers lamented the prolonged delay and the inadequate presence of traffic authorities at the scene.
A commercial driver, Mojeed Olamilekan, who was en route to Osogbo from Lagos, told reporters, “I’ve been stuck at Sekona junction for over an hour. I got here around 10:05 a.m., and I’ve barely moved since then.
The situation is chaotic because there are too few officials managing traffic. The accident scene hasn’t been cleared.”
Another commuter identified as Tajudeen, travelling from Ibadan to Ila Orangun, said he had spent nearly four hours in the gridlock.
He attributed the problem to both driver misconduct and insufficient law enforcement.
“People are disobeying traffic rules, and the number of security personnel here is not enough. Yes, there were accidents, but this level of delay is avoidable,” he said.
Meanwhile, within Osogbo city, traffic congestion worsened due to an uptick in vehicle movement ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. Commuters also reported fare hikes by public transport operators.
Major bottlenecks were observed at Oja Oba, Oke Fia, Old Garage, Igbona, and Ota Efun areas of the state capital.