The Lagos State Police Command has commenced an investigation into the death of a 32-year-old dispatch rider, Emmanuel Jegede, who died in a crash along the Ikotun-Idimu Road in Alimosho Local Government Area amid conflicting accounts surrounding the circumstances of the incident.
As gathered, Jegede died at about 10 a.m. yesterday, shortly after completing a delivery and heading to another destination on his motorcycle.
Confirming the incident on Thursday, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said the police received a report from a Federal Road Safety Corps officer who discovered the victim’s body at the scene of the crash.
According to her, police officers visited the location and found Jegede’s lifeless body alongside his motorcycle. She added that preliminary inquiries from residents produced different accounts of how the incident occurred, prompting further investigation.
“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,” Adebisi said.
While some eyewitnesses alleged that Jegede was pushed off his motorcycle by suspected hoodlums during an attempt to extort money from him, the police said they were examining all available accounts to establish the actual cause of the crash.
One witness claimed that Jegede had earlier collided with a tricycle rider while coming out of a street, adding that people in the area intervened and resolved the matter. According to the witness, after the issue was settled, some individuals allegedly demanded money from the rider for their intervention.
The witness alleged that when Jegede said he had no money, the individuals crossed to the other side of the road and waited for him before allegedly pushing him while he was riding.
Another account claimed that as Jegede approached the Alhaja end of Ikotun-Idimu Road, two suspected hoodlums shoved him off his motorcycle, causing him to lose control and crash into the median. The impact, according to the account, resulted in fatal injuries, while the suspects fled the scene.
The police spokesperson said detectives were working to obtain CCTV footage from the area to help determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
She added that the investigation would establish whether Jegede’s death resulted from a criminal attack or a tragic road accident