The Aromonlaran Muslim Community in Ibadan has issued a distress call to the Oyo State Government over recurring fatal accidents along the Odejayi–Aromonlaran stretch of the Gate–Sawmill–Old Ife Road, which have claimed at least four lives in two years and left many others injured.
The latest incident occurred on December 1, 2025, when Imam of the Aromonlaran Muslim Community, Sheikh Sobur Owolabi Opeyemi, was knocked down by a speeding motorcyclist while attempting to cross the road to his residence. The cleric, who was briefly unconscious, later regained stability—an outcome community members described as “nothing short of divine mercy.”
Residents said the accident is one of several avoidable tragedies recorded on the axis, which they described as a “high-risk corridor” due to frequent reckless driving and inadequate traffic-calming infrastructure.
Earlier in the year, the death of a student of Loyola College, Ibadan, triggered public outrage and led authorities to install a speed bump near the school. However, community leaders say the bump was removed during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit for the coronation of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasheed Adewolu Ladoja, to allow smooth passage for the presidential convoy. It has not been replaced since.
Speaking with journalists, a senior member of the Aromonlaran Muslim Community, Mallam Ibrahim Agunbiade, lamented the escalating danger.
“This road has become a danger zone for our people. We cannot continue to witness preventable deaths. We appeal to the Oyo State Government to restore the speed bump and implement lasting safety measures to protect lives,” he said.
The community is urging Governor Seyi Makinde and relevant agencies including the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA), the Ministry of Works, and the Ibadan Urban Flood Management Project (IUFMP) to urgently reinstall the removed speed bumps and deploy additional traffic-calming tools such as rumble strips, pedestrian signs, zebra crossings, and speed-limit enforcement.
Residents argued that the growing population of schoolchildren, traders, worshippers, and commuters along the corridor made the area unsuitable for high-speed driving, insisted that failure to address the problem could lead to more preventable tragedies.
The Aromonlaran Muslim Community stressed that protecting human life must remain the government’s top priority and called for swift action to avert future loss of life.
