While the world celebrates Anthony Joshua’s miraculous survival, a 46-year-old man, Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, stands alone in the dock at a Sagamu Magistrate Court, facing the prospect of years in prison.
Kayode, the man behind the wheel of the Lexus SUV that crashed on December 29, 2025, claiming the lives of two of Joshua’s closest aides, has been charged with dangerous driving and causing death. But as the legal system moves swiftly to pin the tragedy on the driver, critical questions are being raised about the “silent killer” that actually caused the fatalities: an illegally parked heavy-duty truck, and the government agencies that allow such hazards to turn Nigerian highways into death traps.
For those just tuning into the story, the accident occurred on the notorious Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Anthony Joshua, fresh off a victory against Jake Paul, was in the car when it suffered a tire blowout. The SUV lost control and rammed into a stationary truck parked on the roadside. Joshua survived with minor injuries because he had switched seats moments earlier, but his strength coach, Sina Ghami, and trainer, Latif “Latz” Ayodele, were killed instantly.
On Tuesday, Kayode appeared in court looking visibly shattered. Prosecutors slapped him with a four-count charge, including reckless driving and driving without a valid license. While the license violation is a personal failure, the charge of “dangerous driving causing death” ignores the environmental factor that turned a tire blowout into a double fatality.
Kayode has pleaded not guilty, citing brake failure, but he remains the sole focus of the police investigation.
The arraignment of Kayode has sparked outrage among safety experts who point to the illegally parked truck as the primary culprit. In Nigeria, it is a common yet deadly practice for heavy-duty trucks to park indiscriminately on active highways, often without reflective warning signs or hazard lights.
“If that truck was not parked illegally on the shoulder of a high-speed expressway, this might have been a minor incident of a car spinning into the bush,” said a road safety analyst who preferred anonymity. “Instead, the SUV hit an immovable wall of steel. The driver is being prosecuted, but who is prosecuting the truck driver who abandoned his vehicle there? Where is the owner of that truck?”
Reports indicate the truck was parked in a location that offered no safe clearance for other road users, a direct violation of highway codes. Yet, there has been no word from the police regarding the arrest or prosecution of the truck driver or the logistics company involved.
This tragedy casts a harsh spotlight on the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Federal Ministry of Works. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is the busiest artery in the country, yet it lacks functional emergency lay-bys, adequate lighting, or consistent patrols to remove broken-down vehicles.
Critics argue that the government agencies charged with making the roads safe have failed in their primary duty.
Why are trucks allowed to turn highway shoulders into parking lots with impunity?
How long had that truck been sitting there before the accident occurred?
The lack of tow trucks to immediately clear obstructions means that every broken-down vehicle becomes a potential coffin for other travelers.
While Kayode’s alleged lack of a valid license is indefensible, his prosecution feels to many like a convenient way to close a high-profile case without addressing the systemic rot. He is the “fall guy” for a road system where chaos is normalized.
As the case adjourns until February 25, 2026, the families of Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele mourn their loss. But for the rest of the traveling public, the terrifying reality remains: the government agencies paid to protect them are missing in action, and the next “stationary killer” is already parked on the highway, waiting for its next victim.
