Makuochi Okafor,BBC Africa, Lagosand
Ian Aikman
British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car crash in Nigeria, which killed two other people.
The former world champion was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a stationary lorry on a major expressway in Ogun State, near Lagos, officials said.
Joshua was stable and conscious, and had been in contact with his family, the Ogun and Lagos state governments said in a joint statement.
Five adult men were involved in the crash, Nigeria’s road safety authority said. The two who died were both “male foreign nationals”, according to local officials.
They added that Joshua and another man – the vehicle’s driver – were rescued by the boxer’s security team.
The crash took place on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway at around 12:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Monday.
Video from the scene showed the 36-year-old being helped out from the back seat of a wrecked SUV.
Ogun and Lagos state governments said Joshua and another passenger were “immediately evacuated to a specialised medical facility in Lagos”.
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed his sympathies for the crash’s victims and said Joshua was a “source of national pride”.
“This immense tragedy casts a deep shadow on this season. I sympathise with you and your family as you bear the emotional weight of this unfortunate incident,” he posted on X.
Federal Road Safety CorpsThe incident involved two vehicles: a black Lexus and a stationary red commercial truck.
The FRSC said the Lexus was “suspected to be travelling beyond the legally prescribed speed limit”, based on preliminary findings.
It said the car appeared to have “lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre” and crashed into the stationary truck by the side of the road.
Pictures shared by the FRSC showed a wrecked car at the site of the crash, with a crowd of onlookers gathered around.
The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is known as one of Nigeria’s deadliest roads, with particularly heavy traffic at this time of year as many Nigerians living abroad visit for the festive period.
Adeniyi OrojoJoshua, who was born in Watford, has family roots in Sagamu – a town in Ogun State, south-west Nigeria, near the crash site.
He had been spending time in the country following his recent victory over American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on 19 December.
Paul posted on X after the crash: “Life is much more important than boxing. I am praying for the lost lives, AJ and anyone impacted by today’s unfortunate accident.”
Hours before the crash, Joshua posted a video to Instagram of himself playing table tennis with another man. It is unclear exactly when or where the video was taken.
Local police commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo said an investigation into the accident had been ordered.
A relative of Joshua’s in Nigeria, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that news of the crash came as a “shock” to the family.
They said they were hoping for his “speedy recovery” and offered prayers for those who died in the crash.
The family member confirmed that Joshua was travelling from Lagos to Ogun State when the accident happened. His family had been expecting him to join them in Sagamu for New Year celebrations.
The boxer’s family is well known in the town and traces its ancestry there across several generations.
There are plans to build a new indoor boxing venue named after Joshua in Ogun, where the boxer is a sports ambassador.