Lagos driver fleeing police arrest kills okada rider, injures two

File. A Nigerian Policeman

A  yet-to-be-identified motorcycle operator has been killed, and two others injured, after a speeding driver, allegedly fleeing police officers, knocked down three motorcycle riders on Liasu Road in the Idimu area of Lagos State.

The incident occurred on Saturday night during a police chase involving a vehicle suspected to belong to Internet fraudsters.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle while attempting to escape from the pursuing officers and knocked down the three motorcycle riders in the process.

One of the riders was said to have died on the spot, while the two others sustained injuries.

It was gathered that the driver and other occupants of the vehicle abandoned it and fled after realising what had happened.

An eyewitness who gave his name simply as Wahab said the vehicle was being chased from the Ile-Iwe end of the road towards the Council bus stop.

He said, “They were coming from the Ile-Iwe side when police officers in a minibus tried to stop them. It was in the process that they increased their speed and drove recklessly.

“It was when the driver lost control that he ran into the okada riders. The one directly hit died on the spot, and the driver and other male adults in the vehicle ran out of the vehicle and fled.”

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The vehicle was subsequently towed to the nearest police station, while the injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital.

The incident, however, sparked a protest by commercial motorcycle riders operating along Powerline and Liasu roads, as they stopped conveying passengers to demand justice for their colleagues.

According to another resident, Titi Jayeoba, the protest left several residents stranded as they struggled to find alternative means of transportation.

“We were stranded on Sunday after the okada riders refused to operate. People who depend on motorcycles to get to church and other places were stranded. The tricycles available could not carry everybody, so many people found it difficult to get to their destinations.

“And some were not even interested in tricycles because they would not take them into their streets,” Jayeoba stated.

It was gathered that normalcy had since returned to the area after the motorcycle operators resumed operations later in the evening.

The deceased victim was also said to have been buried according to Islamic rites.

When contacted on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said she was not aware of the incident. She, however, promised to revert.