Policemen escape lynching after killing pedestrian

*Driver knocks down two

An elderly man was killed yesterday at the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, when a commercial bus driver who was being chased by policemen knocked him down.

The bus driver was said to have violated traffic rules and refused to stop when a team of policemen flagged him down.

Immediately the bus driver knocked down the pedestrian who was waiting for a bus at the bus stop, the policemen who were hot on his tail in their patrol van, climbed over the victim, crushing him. The incident which occurred around Haruna area of Ikorodu, in the early hours left the pedestrian identified as ‘Baba Peace’ dead.

It was gathered that the four policemen who were attached to Owutu Police Station pursued the bus driver from Agric bus stop, down through Ikorodu town axis.

Eye-witness account claimed  that the commercial bus driver who sped uncontrollably and recklessly in order to escape being caught by the policemen, knocked down the deceased who was at the bus stop, waiting for a vehicle to convey him to his place of work.

The wife of the deceased who reportedly escorted him to the bus stop wept uncontrollably as she stared unbelievably at the remains of her husband.

The policemen, who did not wait after running over the deceased, quickly stopped pursuing the bus driver. They swerved off the road, and sped like the hounds of hell were after them into Wahab Avenue; took Bolaji Benson Street and escaped into Marwa Estate.

Irate youths and commercial motorbike riders in the area chased after them but were scared away by the sporadic of the policemen as they escaped through the Estate.

The policemen drove into the Estate and entered a compound where they parked their vehicle. They informed the house owner that they were pursuing some robbers. The concerned man quickly alerted the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the division who ordered for reinforcement.

 One of the policemen was however unlucky as he was accosted by the angry mob already waiting for them inside the Estate.  

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased, which was left on the road while the entire melee lasted, was later taken to the morgue by some police officers who also came from Owutu Police Division in company of some Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials.

In another development in Ketu area of the state, a commercial bus driver fleeing from LASTMA officials who wanted to arrest him for allegedly driving on BRT lane knocked down two pedestrians at Ketu bus stop.  

Although the bus driver escaped, but the pedestrian, a male and a female whose identity are yet unknown, sustained severe injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital by sympathizers.