Driver explains how he killed Lagos police officer during stop-and-search

A 21-year-old driver, Olumide Olushola, has shared how he allegedly hit and killed a police sergeant, Johnson Okediji, during a stop-and-search operation in the Egbeda area of Lagos State.

Olushola was paraded at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja on Monday. He denied intentionally hitting the officer, claiming that the brakes of the Lexus ES 350 he was driving failed.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, said during a press briefing that the incident happened around 2.20pm on Saturday, September 26, 2026, along Olugbede Street, Egbeda.

According to the CP, police officers on stop-and-search duty tried to stop the Lexus, which has the registration number FKJ 223 KX, but Olushola allegedly sped off as Sergeant Okediji approached his driver’s side, knocking down the officer in the process.

Tijani said, "The driver initially stopped but suddenly sped off as Sergeant Johnson Okediji approached the driver’s side. The officer was knocked down and dragged underneath the vehicle for several metres despite repeated attempts by police officers and passers-by to make the driver stop.

"The driver was eventually chased and arrested. The officer sustained multiple fractures and serious head injuries."

The CP said the sergeant was rushed to a nearby hospital, then referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Tijani added that the deceased officer’s body had been taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for preservation and autopsy, while the vehicle was recovered by the police.

However, during his parade, Olushola maintained that he did not deliberately knock down the officer, saying that the vehicle’s brakes failed. He said he had seen the police officers ahead and was getting ready to stop when the sergeant moved in front of his car.

He claimed that the vehicle hit the officer and dragged him as he tried to bring it to a stop. "I was trying to stop the vehicle. The vehicle didn’t stop. That’s when the vehicle hit another vehicle in front. That’s when I fell down with the person sitting next to me," he explained.

Olushola mentioned that he had been using the Lexus for about a month and took it to a mechanic a day before the incident after noticing brake issues. "I carried the vehicle to the mechanic the day before that day. I told the mechanic to change all the brake pads in the vehicle, and the mechanic told me he had changed all the brake pads," he said.

He admitted that he noticed the brake was still slipping after buying fuel on the day of the incident. When asked why he continued driving despite the problem, Olushola said he planned to return the vehicle to the mechanic later that day.

The suspect, who sells phones, gadgets, and laptops, expressed regret over the officer’s death. "I have a lot of regrets in my mind about hitting an officer of the law. I am very pained about that," he said.

Olushola also claimed that the Lexus belonged to his mother, who got it the previous month, and that he had been helping her drive it. The police said an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sergeant's death is ongoing.