The lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has expressed sympathy with WWE champion, Anthony Joshua, following a tragic road accident that claimed the lives of two of his friends who travelled to Nigeria with him, on Monday.
NEWSMAXNG had reported that the fatal crash, occurred around midday along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, involving a Toyota Lexus jeep conveying Joshua and three other passengers.
While the champion survived, two occupants of the vehicle who were reportedly his friends died in the crash and were later identified as Ayodele Kelvin Olu, a 36-year-old Nigerian-British citizen, and Gami Sina, a 36-year-old British citizen.
Akpoti-Uduaghan described the incident in her condolence statement to Joshua on Tuesday as heart-wrenching and unacceptable.
She lamented that the continued loss of lives on Nigerian highways due to poor safety enforcement and weak emergency response systems were becoming alarming.
She said, “My heart goes out to Anthony Joshua at this very painful time.
“Losing two close friends in such a tragic manner is devastating. I pray that God grants him strength and comfort, and that the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”
Beyond expressing sympathy, the senator used the incident to renew her call for decisive national action on road safety, stressing that preventable accidents continue to claim lives across the country.
“Nigerian highways have become corridors of sorrow. This tragedy once again reminds us that road safety in Nigeria is not optional; it is a matter of life and death.”
The lawmaker urged the Federal Road Safety Corps to ensure strict enforcement of existing traffic and safety regulations, warning that weak compliance and lax monitoring have contributed significantly to fatal crashes nationwide.
According to her, “Rules without enforcement are meaningless. The Federal Road Safety Corps must be empowered and compelled to fully enforce road safety regulations across all highways in Nigeria, without fear or favour.”
She further called on the Federal Government to establish properly equipped vehicle rest-in stations and lay-bys along major highways stating that “no driver should be forced to drive endlessly without a safe place to rest. Well-equipped vehicle rest stations must be deliberately created across our highways to reduce exhaustion-induced crashes.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also called for the creation of a dedicated Highway Emergency Rescue Team, equipped with ambulances, trauma care units, and rapid-response personnel to attend to accident victims in real-time.
She lamented that many lives are lost not only because of accidents but because help does not arrive on time.
She stressed that “Nigeria urgently needs a functional highway emergency rescue system that can respond within minutes, not hours.”
“This tragedy should not be another headline we forget tomorrow. It must be a turning point for serious highway safety reforms in Nigeria,” she added.
