Adesola Ikulajolu
BBC News Pidgin

One eyewitness tells me that the vehicle Joshua was travelling in hit a large truck transporting soybeans, which had broken down on the road on Sunday.

The impact destroyed parts of the truck, including its tyres.

The witness says Joshua remained inside the vehicle for nearly 10 minutes before bystanders called out to him, helping him regain consciousness.

The Nigerian Road Safety Corps arrived at the scene and removed the damaged truck from the road, the witness adds.

Local police commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo said earlier an investigation into the accident has been ordered.

Image source, Getty Images

Jake Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer who lost to Anthony Joshua earlier this month, has posted on X., external

"Life is much more important than boxing. I am praying for the lost lives, AJ and anyone impacted by today’s unfortunate accident," he says.

Ogun's state government says the two people killed in the crash were "two male foreign nationals", according to preliminary reports.

As we've been reporting, two passengers were unscathed, while Joshua - who was in the backseat - sustained minor injuries.

Ogun's government says Joshua and the driver were rescued from the car by security personnel travelling with him.

Image source, Reuters

We're contacting Joshua's promoter, Matchroom Boxing. Earlier, Daily Mail Sport reported comments from its chairman Eddie Hearn, who said he woke to the news of the car crash while on holiday.

"We are trying to contact Anthony and in the meantime we don't want to speculate on how he is but thankfully he appears OK from what I have seen in the images," he told the publication.

"We are awaiting more information on what has happened and will update in due course."

Makuochi Okafor
Reporting from Lagos, Nigeria

Image source, Getty Images

Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua was born in Watford, England, but has often spoken proudly about his Nigerian heritage.

The Joshua family is well known in Sagamu, in south-west Nigeria, and traces its ancestry there across several generations.

His great-grandfather, Daniel Adebambo Joshua, was a wealthy landowner and merchant, who is believed to have taken the Joshua surname after converting to Christianity.

One of the clearest signs of Joshua's pride in his heritage is a tattoo of the African continent on his right shoulder, with Nigeria clearly outlined.

During his fights, the Nigerian flag is regularly displayed alongside the Union Jack in the ring, including after his victory against Jake Paul earlier in the month.

In Ogun, where Joshua is a sports ambassador, there are plans to build a new indoor boxing venue named after the former heavyweight world champion.

Image source, Getty Images

We now know more than we did an hour ago about the circumstances of the crash in Nigeria. Here's a roundup of what we've gathered:

• Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been injured in a car crash along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, north-east of Lagos near the Sagamu Interchange
• Five men were involved in the crash when the car Joshua was in collided with a stationary lorry by the side of the road, officials say. The Federal Road Safety Corps in Nigeria says the car - a Lexus Jeep - was suspected of travelling over the speed limit and crashing while overtaking
• Two people died in the crash, while Joshua was rescued alive - sustaining minor injuries - and two others escaped unhurt
• Pictures released by the road safety corps show the site of the crash. Officials say police were at the scene within three minutes of being notified of the incident
• One of Joshua's relatives tells the BBC that news of the crash came as a "shock" to the family. "We are hoping for his speedy recovery and also the people who passed away - I pray for the departed to rest in peace," the relative adds
• The boxer was travelling from Lagos to the family home, according to the relative

Image source, Getty Images

Anthony Joshua's car crash comes shortly after his heavyweight victory over YouTube star Jake Paul on 19 December.

Joshua, who had been out of the ring since defeat by Daniel Dubois in September 2024, broke Paul's jaw in two places during the six-round victory in Miami.

The fight earned the 36-year-old Briton a share of a reported £210m purse.

The bout, streamed on Netflix, was criticised by some - given Paul was a relative novice, and smaller than Joshua.

Joshua said he was "not worried" about the integrity of the fight and the "whole point of it" was to "create conversation".

Mayeni Jones
Africa correspondent

The accident happened this morning, when Joshua was travelling along a very busy expressway, seemingly in the back seat of a Lexus.

The road is commonly known as the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and it has been described by local media as one of Nigeria's deadliest roads.

The Lagos-Ibadan expressway connects Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state and Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. It spans 127 km (79 miles).

It gets particularly busy during this time of year as many Nigerians travel back to the country from the diaspora to celebrate the festive period.

Images and videos of the crash have been circulating on social media, including this one of Anthony Joshua taken shortly after the incident, in the back seat of a vehicle.

Officials also released these pictures of a severely damaged vehicle, and debris surrounding a truck with a large dent in it.

Image source, Adeniyi Orojo

Ogun State Police Command has confirmed that the crash occurred along the Lagos–Ibadan expressway, just before a Danco petrol station near the Sagamu Interchange, north-east of Lagos.

The force says the crash involved a Lexus SUV that Joshua was travelling in.

A relative of Anthony Joshua, who asked not to be named, tells the BBC that the news of the crash has "come to the family as a shock".

"We are hoping for his speedy recovery and also the people who passed away - I pray for the departed to rest in peace," the relative says.

Joshua was travelling from Lagos to the family home, they add.

"He’s normally coming around for the new year. We haven’t seen him so we were expecting him."

The Federal Road Safety Corps in Nigeria has just posted the following images on X showing the site of the crash:

Image source, Federal Road Safety Corps

Image source, Federal Road Safety Corps

Image source, Federal Road Safety Corps

More now from the update given by road safety officials.

They say five adult males were involved in the crash - two of whom have died.

Two others "escaped unhurt".

Anthony Joshua was "rescued alive and sustained minor injuries". He was taken for "medical attention".

The update from the Federal Road Safety Corps in Nigeria says a Lexus Jeep involved in the incident was suspected to be travelling "beyond the legally prescribed speed limit".

They say the car lost control during "an overtaking manoeuvre" and crashed into a stationary truck by the side of the road.

We've just had a statement from road safety officials in Nigeria, with more details of the crash.

In it, officials say a total of five adult males were involved in the crash, including Anthony Joshua.

We'll bring you more in the next few moments.

If you're just joining us, here's what we do and don't know about British boxer Anthony Joshua's car crash in Nigeria:

What we know:

• Joshua has been injured in a crash on the Ogun–Lagos state expressway on Monday morning. Two others were killed
• Local police tell the BBC that Joshua has been taken to hospital - they earlier said he suffered minor injuries but is "fine"
• According to local media, Joshua was in the back of a vehicle when it collided with a stationary truck
• Pictures of the heavyweight boxer sitting topless at the back of a car, surrounded by what appears to be broken glass, have been posted online - we are working to verify them now

What we don't know:

• The identities of the two people killed - or which vehicle they were travelling in
• The details of Joshua's injuries
• The exact cause of the crash
• The number of other people injured - police say they are heading to the local hospital to learn more

Local police commissioner Lanre Ogunlowo says an investigation into the accident has been ordered.

"I can confirm to you that an accident occurred and the victim has been taken to the hospital," he says.

The Divisional Police Officer in Sagamu, Ode Fredrick, says they are heading to the hospital to confirm the casualties involved in the accident.

Image source, anthonyjoshua

Hours before the crash, at roughly 08:30 GMT (09:30 local time), Joshua posted a video to his Instagram of him playing table tennis with another man.

The former heavyweight world champion had been spending time in Nigeria following his recent fight with Jake Paul on 19 December - but we don't know exactly where or when the table tennis video was taken.

Mayeni Jones
Africa correspondent

As we've been reporting, authorities in Nigeria say Anthony Joshua has been involved in a car accident in which two other people have been killed.

Pictures of the heavyweight boxer sitting topless at the back of a car, surrounded by what appears to be broken glass, have been posted online.

According to local media, Joshua was in the back of a vehicle when it collided with a stationary truck.

The accident reportedly took place on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway on Monday morning.

In social media videos from the site of the accident, the 36-year-old can be seen grimacing as he attempts to exit the car wreckage.

Eyewitness Adeniyi Orojo tells Nigerian newspaper The Punch that a Lexus and Pajero were involved in the crash.

"Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him," he tells the newspaper.

"There was also a passenger sitting beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed. His security detail was in the vehicle behind them before the crash."