The 2026 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon was disrupted onSaturday following a disturbing incident in which an ambulance attached to theevent knocked down a spectator along the race corridor. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NigerianEye (@nigerianeye_)The incident occurred on February 14, 2026, during the 11thedition of the annual marathon, as thousands of athletes competed across majorroutes in Lagos. A video of the moment, which has since circulated widely onsocial media, showed a medical ambulance driving within the race area beforehitting a spectator, triggering public concern over safety arrangements at theevent. According to a video of the incident circulating online, itindicated that the incident happened while both the 42-kilometre and10-kilometre races were ongoing across designated routes in Victoria Island andLekki. The presence of the ambulance within close proximity to active runnersand spectators reportedly caused panic and confusion at the scene. Prior to the marathon, the Lagos State Government hadannounced an extensive traffic diversion plan aimed at ensuring the smoothconduct of the race and the safety of participants and the public. Authoritiesstated that adjoining roads and intersections would be closed to unauthorisedvehicular movement between 12:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to safeguard approximately28,000 registered runners. The Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, hadearlier assured residents that officials of the Lagos State Traffic ManagementAuthority and other security agencies would be strategically deployed along therace corridors to restrict access and ensure safety. The Ministry of Transportation had also explained that thetraffic diversion was necessary to guarantee the successful staging of theannual road race while minimising disruption to vehicular movement across majorroutes. However, the incident involving an ambulance designated foremergency medical support has raised questions about coordination among raceorganisers, medical teams and traffic authorities, particularly regardingvehicle movement within restricted marathon corridors.
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