FG threatens to shut Lagos coastal highway over frequent deaths and other security reasons

• FG says the Lagos section of the coastal highway could be shut in two weeks if safety conditions don't improve.

• Officials say motorists are ignoring the 30km/h speed limit, with fatalities occurring “almost every other day.”

• The government is also tackling illegal parking, U-turns, vandalism, motorcycles and tricycles along the route.

The Federal Government has warned it will shut down the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway within two weeks if motorists and other road users don't comply with safety directives on the route.

Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the warning at a press briefing on Monday, saying Minister of Works David Umahi had directed the ministry to return and close the road if conditions don't improve. "In another two weeks, if there's no improvement, His Excellency has directed that we are coming back to shut down the road," Dare said.

At the centre of the warning is a road safety crisis the ministry says is now costing lives regularly. Despite a posted 30km/h speed limit through active construction zones, Dare said motorists have been clocked driving as fast as 120km/h.

"We have said your speed on the coastal road must not be more than 30km/h. It is well written everywhere. But people will come here and go at 100km/h. This cannot continue," he said, adding that fatalities are now occurring "almost every other day."

Beyond speeding, Dare pointed to a growing list of security and infrastructure problems along the highway's roughly 103km stretch within Lagos, which remains under active construction, including 20 bridges yet to be completed across its two sections.

He said trucks and articulated vehicles illegally parked on the highway will now be towed, and illegal U-turns removed, with offenders facing prosecution.

Motorcycles and tricycles have also been banned from the route entirely. Dare disclosed that more than 100 Okada riders were arrested on the highway in the past week alone.

Vandalism has compounded the problem. Dare said about five kilometres of clear-view fencing and roughly 18 kilometres of drainage covers have been stripped from the highway, often overnight despite police patrols. The ministry is now considering replacing the fencing with block walls in the worst-hit areas.

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To tighten security, the government has approved 40 community-nominated coastal guards for the highway's first section, to work alongside police, with recruitment expected to be completed within two weeks. Lagos Police Commissioner Fatai Tijani has also increased police deployment along the corridor.

Separately, authorities plan to deploy a joint task force this week to clear trucks that have been using the Gypsy Port area as an informal, long-term parking spot.

Dare said the road itself is fully completed in its first section, with bridge work ongoing but still within the project's three-year contract timeline.

The government previously considered shutting the highway in December over similar concerns, but President Bola Tinubu directed that it remain open to ease traffic flow.