A 27-year-old entrepreneur, Aisha Maikudi Ibrahim, has died in heartbreaking circumstances after her vehicle somersaulted and plunged into the Lagos Lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge in the early hours of Saturday, August 23, 2025. The incident has not only left her family in mourning but also ignited outrage over what they described as a “commercialised” and failed rescue response.
According to relatives, Aisha was returning from an event in Ikoyi, where she worked as a vendor, and had called her mother around 1 a.m. to say she would be home in 20 minutes. When she failed to arrive, her phone line went dead by 2 a.m. and by dawn, her worried mother and sister set out to search. Their worst fears were confirmed hours later when they encountered emergency officials near the bridge, staring at the wreckage of her car in the water.
Family members believe the accident may have been caused by overspeeding, though the exact circumstances remain unclear. Witnesses said her car somersaulted before plunging off the bridge, leaving only the bumper and part of the number plate visible above the surface of the lagoon.
What followed compounded the family’s grief. Despite the presence of officials from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and marine police, no immediate rescue effort was made. Instead, local divers reportedly demanded ₦400,000 before attempting to retrieve her body. “Officials kept making calls but did nothing. Her father had to negotiate with divers, and only after payment did they agree to dive,” said her aunt, Mrs. Hadiza Oyewumi.
Aisha’s remains were eventually recovered between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., nearly 12 hours after the crash, before being buried in line with Islamic rites. The family, still reeling from shock, condemned what they described as an inhumane and profit-driven approach to rescue operations in Lagos.
“She was a bright and ambitious entrepreneur,” Mrs. Oyewumi said in a statement. “The tragedy of her death is painful enough, but the greater pain lies in the response that followed. No meaningful rescue was carried out despite the presence of agencies. We paid, not as a bargain, but simply to bring her out for burial.”
The family is now calling on the Lagos State Government to overhaul its emergency response framework by equipping officials with the tools and trained divers needed for water-related accidents. “Lagos cannot afford to commercialise life. Preparedness and compassion must define our response to emergencies,” the statement read. The case has renewed public anger over the state’s history of delayed rescue responses in fatal incidents on the Third Mainland Bridge.
