The family of a commercial motorcyclist, Osita Chukwu, has been thrown into mourning after the driver of a Sport Utility Vehicle belonging to a fish firm crushed him and his passenger to death in the Odogunyan area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Osita was conveying the yet-to-be-identified passenger to a destination in the Odogunyan area when the SUV driver suddenly lost control of the vehicle and rammed them to death at the Sheriff bus stop.
While the passenger reportedly died on the spot, Osita, who was said to have sustained severe injuries due to the impact of the accident, was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, one Ernest Oboh, whom Osita was supplying newspapers, said the motorcyclist died while on admission, adding that the Sagamu Road Police Division was contacted after the crash.
“I just lost my dispatch rider, who was operating as a commercial motorcyclist after supplying me newspapers. He was crushed to death alongside a passenger by a speeding SUV. The accident happened after he visited my vendor to drop the newspapers. It was the Sagamu Road Police Station that handled the matter and the victim’s family has been contacted,” he said.
Osita’s elder brother, Basil, told PUNCH Metro that he was working at a site when the doctor treating his brother informed him that he had died, adding that the tragedy had plunged the family into untold hardship.
He said, “I was working at the site when I received a call from the doctor attending to him at the hospital asking if I knew one Mr Osita Chukwu, who had an accident and was admitted to the hospital. The doctor said he was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver and some good Samaritans brought him to the hospital for treatment. I quickly told him to ensure his adequate treatment.
“However, the doctor called back later to inform me that I needed to come to the hospital to take his corpse away, because Osita had passed away. I was shocked and still crying when I received another call from the police asking if I would be pressing charges, because the person who used his vehicle to knock him down, had reported himself at the station.
“From what I was told, Osita was conveying a passenger to a destination in Ikorodu when the vehicle belonging to a fishing company rammed into him. I was at the Sagamu Police Station, where the police were faulting the driver, because he was not the real driver and had no driving licence. The accident happened on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.
“At the station, I was shown the picture of Osita’s corpse to identify if he was my brother. After identifying him, I went to the mortuary to see his corpse. Later on, I had a meeting with the family of the person responsible for his death and they gave us N300,000 to take care of his family and also made some contributions for his burial, which has been done in our village in Enugu State.”
Basil said the victim was survived by a wife and three children, and appealed to Nigerians and people in authority to assist the family.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said he would make enquiries and get back to our correspondent.
However, he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this story.
By Deji Lambo