Driver fleeing police hits okada rider, kills one and injures two

A motorcycle rider has been killed and two others hurt after a speeding driver, who was trying to escape police, knocked down three riders on Liasu Road in the Idimu area of Lagos State.

This happened on Saturday night during a police chase involving a car that was believed to be linked to Internet fraudsters.

PUNCH Metro learned that the driver lost control while trying to run away from the police and hit the three motorcycle riders.

One of the riders died on the spot, while the other two suffered injuries.

Reports say the driver and the other people in the car ran away after realizing what happened.

An eyewitness named Wahab said the police were chasing the vehicle from the Ile-Iwe side of the road towards the Council bus stop.

He explained, "They were coming from the Ile-Iwe side when police officers in a minibus tried to stop them. It was in the process that they increased their speed and drove recklessly.

"It was when the driver lost control that he ran into the okada riders. The one directly hit died on the spot, and the driver and other male adults in the vehicle ran out of the vehicle and fled."

The police later towed the abandoned vehicle to the nearest station. The injured riders were taken to a hospital nearby.

The incident caused a protest by commercial motorcycle riders along Powerline and Liasu roads. They stopped carrying passengers to demand justice for their fellow riders.

Another resident, Titi Jayeoba, shared that the protest left many people stranded as they looked for other ways to travel.

"We were stranded on Sunday after the okada riders refused to operate. People who depend on motorcycles to get to church and other places were stranded. The tricycles available could not carry everybody, so many people found it hard to reach their destinations.

"And some were not even interested in tricycles because they would not take them into their streets," Jayeoba added.

Normalcy returned to the area after the motorcycle operators resumed work later in the evening.

The rider who died was reportedly buried according to Islamic rites.

When contacted on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said she had not heard about the incident. She promised to follow up.