The body of a photographer who was in the vehicle that plunged into the Lagos lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge on Saturday has been recovered.
His recovery comes days after local divers retrieved the body of the female driver, whose identity remains undisclosed. The crash occurred around 5:11 a.m. near the Rapid Response Squad checkpoint inward Iyana Oworo, Ebute Meta.
Confirming the development on Wednesday, Lagos State Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin said, “The second victim’s body was recovered yesterday (Tuesday).”
The incident has sparked public outrage after reports emerged that the driver’s remains were only recovered when grieving relatives allegedly paid fishermen ₦400,000 before they agreed to dive into the lagoon.
A social media user, @dee-ah, who said the deceased was her best friend’s niece, criticised the official response in an open letter to the state government.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write this. Yesterday, tragedy struck close to home. We lost a promising young lady in a car accident that ended with the car plunging into the lagoon. The circumstances remain unclear, but what is more painful is the response that followed. LASTMA and Marine Police were at the scene, but there was no meaningful rescue effort,” she wrote.
According to her, distraught family members had to rely on local fishermen who identified the location of the submerged car but demanded money before acting.
“In the end, the family paid—not to bargain, but simply to recover her body for a proper burial,” she lamented.
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She urged the state government to empower and equip local divers to serve as first responders.
“Can a structure or fund be created so that, in such moments, money is not placed above humanity? We pride ourselves as the ‘Centre of Excellence,’ but tragedies like this expose the gaps in our society.”
