The
deceased was crushed to death by a fast moving articulated vehicle at about
6pm, yesterday while trying to evade police arrest.
The
sad incident resulted in traffic gridlock and motorists were stranded for hours
as Okada riders in the vicinity went on the rampage to protest the death of
their colleague.
The
deceased, Shagari news gathered was said to be a tailor, who also rode the
motorcycle in the evening after close of work to make some money.
An
eyewitness told our correspondent that the deceased was trying to evade arrest
by the policemen who were on patrol in the area, apparently to enforce
restriction of okada on that particular road as specified by the Lagos Traffic
Law.
“He
was coming from Shasha end of the road en-route Akowonjo roundabout after close
of work as a tailor when he ran into the policemen on patrol. Before then, he
had only gone to make a U-turn from the same roundabout when he could not find
a passenger to carry.
“In
the process he ran into policemen and in an attempt to escape from the arrest
he fell under the tyre of the articulated vehicle which crushed him.
“Other
okada riders who were watching the development, immediately blocked the
road and went after the policemen on patrol.”
A
combined team of regular and anti-riot policemen restored normalcy after
shooting in the air to scare away the rampaging youths and okada riders.
The
Commander of “ Area M” command, Idimu, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP,
Ibrahim Kaoje, who led the team of policemen to the scene, described the
incident as unfortunate.
He urged
the okoda riders and sympathisers on the need to maintain peace and order by
not obstructing other people from going about their lawful businesses.
