Six worshippers killed in Lagos as truck rams into the Redeemed church

Six worshippers were killed and several others injured on Monday night when a truck loaded with sharp sand crashed into the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) branch along Hospital Road in Epe, Lagos State.

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The crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. on Monday, shortly after the church concluded its evening service.

Daily Post reported on Wednesday that while most congregants had left, some were still inside the auditorium, praying or preparing to exit when the heavy-duty vehicle veered off the road and ploughed into the building.

Eyewitnesses told Daily Post that the truck lost control while descending a slope en route to a nearby roundabout. Tinu Oduwale, who witnessed the incident, told the news platform that the truck’s brakes failed, forcing the driver to struggle to avoid hitting vehicles and pedestrians.

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“He kept shouting and honking to warn people. He tried to steer clear of the junction, but the truck crashed directly into the church,” Mr Oduwale said.

Another resident, identified as Mr Sanjo, told the publication that the victims were caught off-guard while still praying.

“They had just finished their service. Some people were still inside when the truck rammed the building. If it had happened earlier, the casualties could have been much higher,” he said.

Emergency responders, including the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, rushed to the scene. Injured worshippers were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

According to Daily Post, the Lagos State Police confirmed six worshippers died in the crash. The truck, reportedly unregistered, was abandoned by the driver, who fled the scene.

The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the morgue, and investigations are ongoing.

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, for comment, but had yet to receive a response at the time of filing this report.

Epidemic of crashes

The Epe church crash is part of a troubling trend of auto-crashes in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria. Some of the crashes have involved trucks which lost control and collided with buildings, shops, crowded areas or other road users.

In January, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) confirmed that two passengers sustained serious injuries in an early-morning crash along the Heritage Garden inward Oshodi–Oke corridor.

LASTMA attributed the incident to excessive speed, explaining that a long red Tata commercial bus (registration number MUS 507 XX) rammed into a moving truck. The truck reportedly fled the scene without visible damage.

LASTMA operatives responded after receiving a distress alert, rescued the trapped passengers, and activated emergency protocols.

Also in January, a truck driver was killed in a separate crash in the Epetedo area at Shangotedo, inward Eleko, on the Lekki–Epe Expressway. LASTMA’s General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said preliminary findings showed that the articulated truck lost balance and somersaulted.

He said LASTMA’s 24-hour night patrol team promptly secured the scene to prevent secondary collisions.

However, while the driver attempted to place a caution sign to warn oncoming motorists, a speeding vehicle struck and killed him.

In December 2025, two people died and three others sustained critical injuries in a multiple-vehicle crash at Iyana Meiran, Lagos.

At least eight people died in a multiple-truck collision on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway near Kara Bridge, outward Lagos.

The crash, which occurred around the Berger axis, involved several heavy-duty trucks. One truck reportedly plunged into the Kara River, while two others collided and burst into flames, triggering massive gridlock on the busy highway.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, described as the most dangerous in Nigeria, recently gained global attention when heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, was involved in a fatal accident on the road which killed two of his friends and team members on 20 December 2025.