A crowd of angry motorcyclists, commuters and sympathisers at the Agric end of the Ikorodu Road, Lagos State on Thursday, were thrown into shock after a Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, vehicle crushed one Taiwo Adeleye, a motorcyclist (okada rider) to death.
Officials from the Owutu Police division, together with police officers from surrounding divisions, were supported by officials of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS and military officers to maintain the peace in the area.
The crowd of motorcyclist who threatened to retaliate were, however, held back security personnel who swiftly responded to the emergency.
According to The Punch, the deceased who hails from Oyo state, was on the BRT corridor while searching for a prospective passenger. He rode on the corridor and reportedly crashed into an iron barricade and fell to the ground.
The back tyre of a speeding BRT vehicle was reported to have climbed on him, breaking his skull open and he died on the spot.
An eyewitness, who spoke on the incident, said, “The motorcycle rider had just dropped a passenger and he rode into the park.
“He decided to go to the expressway, after he saw a would-be passenger and as he rode there, he stumbled and crashed against the barricade and fell. The incident happened at some minutes past 8am.
“The BRT driver, who did not see him, just continued his movement and the bus crushed him to death,” the witness who spoke on conditions of anonymity, disclosed.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, saying, “A BRT bus killed a motorcycle rider at Agric bus stop at about 8.15am.
“The man’s name is Taiwo Adeleye, an indigene of Oyo State. Other commercial riders rioted, but the command moved in quickly and restore normalcy.
“The corpse has been deposited at a mortuary in Ikorodu. The family of the victim has already been contacted and we are aware that they are in talks with the management of the BRT.”
The spokesperson for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, owners of the BRT, Mr. Kolawole Ojelabi, said he was not aware of the incident.
“I am not aware of the incident. I don’t know anything about it,” Ojelabi said.
A chopper belonging to the RRS also hovered around the scene to forestall a breakdown of law and order.
Meanwhile, a security officer said the victim did not stumble or crash against the barricade, adding that a jeep triggered the accident.
According to him, the speeding jeep had hit Adeleye’s motorcycle, he fell to the ground before the BRT climbed on him and killed him.
“The jeep driver just sped off, without knowing what he had caused,” she said, adding that the road was said to have been splattered with the victim’s blood and brains.
The BRT driver, Oguntoyinbo Akinola, who later pulled over as his passengers took to their heels, was eventually arrested by the police.
Friends of the victim and motorcyclists in the area reportedly went on the rampage, attempting to vandalise other BRT vehicles, but the security agencies were said to have stopped them.
However, all BRT buses plying the Ikorodu area were ordered to cease operation pending when the tension dies down, in order to avert any crisis in the area.
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