A 32-year-old dispatch rider, identified as Emmanuel Jegede, has died after suspected hoodlums allegedly pushed him off his motorcycle while attempting to extort him along the Ikotun-Idimu Road in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
According to Punch, the incident occurred around 10 am on Wednesday shortly after the deceased completed a delivery and was heading to another destination.
Eyewitnesses said the rider had reached the Alhaja area when two suspected hoodlums, who allegedly intended to extort him, pushed him while he was riding.
One eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the rider lost control of his motorcycle, veered off the road and crashed into the road median.
“The rider was passing through the Ikotun-Idimu road, and when he got to Alhaja, two hoodlums who usually stay around the junction tried to stop him and suddenly pushed him while he was in motion.
“He lost control of the motorcycle, veered off the road and rammed into the median. By the time people got to the spot to rescue him, he had already died,” the source said.
Another eyewitness disclosed that the deceased had earlier been involved in a minor collision with a tricycle rider after emerging from a street in the area.
According to the source, residents and some youths, including the suspected hoodlums, intervened and resolved the disagreement.
However, the hoodlums allegedly demanded money from the dispatch rider for mediating the matter.
The eyewitness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the rider told them he had no money, a response that allegedly angered the suspects.
“The man had just finished making a delivery and was on his way to another location. Earlier, while coming out of a street, he mistakenly hit a tricycle rider. People in the area, including the boys, intervened and settled the issue.
“After everything was resolved, the boys demanded that he should settle them for helping him. He told them he did not have any money. They then crossed to the other side of the road and waited for him before pushing him in the process,” the eyewitness said.
The source added that the rider’s chest struck a culvert with great force, resulting in his death at the scene.
The suspected hoodlums reportedly fled immediately after the incident.
Police officers from the Idimu Police Division later arrived at the scene and evacuated the corpse.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident.
She said investigations had commenced to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the rider’s death.
“A Federal Road Safety Corps officer came to the station and reported that he had seen a corpse at the scene of the accident. Our officers immediately visited the location and found the lifeless body of the victim alongside his motorcycle.
“When the police spoke with people in the area, we got two different versions of what happened. One account claimed that a pedestrian was trying to cross the road, and the rider lost control while attempting to avoid hitting the person.
“The second version was that some boys fled the scene immediately after the accident, raising suspicion that they might have attacked or pushed the rider before he crashed,” Adebisi said.
She added that the command was working to obtain CCTV footage from the area as part of efforts to determine what transpired.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
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