A 32-year-old dispatch rider, identified as Emmanuel Jegede, has died after crashing his motorcycle during an incident involving suspected hoodlums along the Ikotun-Idimu Road in the Alimosho area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred around 10 a.m. on Wednesday shortly after the victim completed a delivery and was heading to another destination.
According to eyewitnesses, the rider was approaching the Alhaja area when two suspected hoodlums allegedly confronted him. During the encounter, he reportedly lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into the road median, dying at the scene.
One witness said the suspects were known for demanding money from road users in the area and alleged that they attempted to stop the rider before the fatal crash.
Another resident, who also requested anonymity, said the deceased had earlier been involved in a minor collision with a tricycle rider after emerging from a nearby street. The disagreement was reportedly settled by residents and some youths in the area.
The witness alleged that after resolving the dispute, some of the youths demanded money from the dispatch rider for their intervention. When he explained that he had no money, the situation reportedly escalated before the crash occurred.
The suspects were said to have fled the scene immediately after the incident.
Officers from the Idimu Police Division later arrived at the scene and evacuated the victim’s body.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, said police received a report from an official of the Federal Road Safety Corps about a fatal accident.
He said officers who visited the scene found the victim’s lifeless body beside his motorcycle.
According to the police spokesperson, investigators have received conflicting accounts of the incident. One version suggests the rider lost control while trying to avoid a pedestrian crossing the road, while another claims he may have been attacked before the crash.
Hundeyin said investigations are ongoing, adding that detectives are working to obtain CCTV footage from the area to establish the circumstances surrounding the rider’s death.
