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 happened 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 while trying to escape the pursuing officers and ran into the three riders. One of them reportedly died on the spot, while the other two were injured. The driver and the other occupants abandoned the vehicle 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 police officers in a minibus tried to stop its occupants, who then sped up and drove recklessly. The driver lost control and hit the okada riders, he said, and the rider who was directly hit died instantly, after which the driver and the other men in the vehicle ran away.
The vehicle was later towed to the nearest police station, while the injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital.
The incident sparked a protest by commercial motorcycle riders operating along Powerline and Liasu roads, who stopped carrying passengers to demand justice for their colleagues. A resident, Titi Jayeoba, said the protest left many people stranded on Sunday as they struggled to find other means of transport. She said those who depend on motorcycles to get to church and other places found it hard to reach their destinations, as the available tricycles could not carry everyone, and some residents did not want tricycles because they would not enter their streets.
Normalcy has since returned to the area, as the riders resumed operations later in the evening. The deceased 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, but promised to revert.
