A 32-year-old dispatch rider, Emmanuel Jegede, has died in Lagos following an incident that has renewed concerns over the harassment and extortion of dispatch riders and commercial motorcyclists on the state’s roads.
Jegede reportedly lost his life on Wednesday along Ikotun-Idimu Road in Alimosho Local Government Area after an alleged attack by hoodlums said to be demanding money from him.
Eyewitnesses said the victim had completed a delivery and was heading to another destination when he was involved in a minor collision with a tricycle rider after emerging from a side street.
Residents claimed some hoodlums intervened to settle the dispute but later demanded payment for their assistance. When Jegede reportedly told them he had no money, the suspects allegedly waited for him, pushed him off his motorcycle as he rode past, and fled the scene.
The dispatch rider was said to have crashed into a road median, with his chest hitting a culvert. He died at the scene before help could arrive.
However, the Lagos State Police Command said it is investigating conflicting accounts of the incident. Police spokesperson CSP Abimbola Adebisi said one version suggests the rider lost control while trying to avoid a pedestrian, while another alleges he was deliberately pushed by hoodlums.
The police said efforts are underway to obtain CCTV footage from the area to determine the actual cause of the fatal incident.
