Truck crushes man fighting with friend over debt

Afeez Hanafi

A speeding truck crushed a motor park boy, popularly called agbero, to death on Wednesday May 18, 2016 at the Berger bus stop, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

It was learnt that the deceased, identified simply as Agba Akin, had lent a friend some money which the friend, Jimoh, had yet to repay.

Jimoh, a commercial driver shuttling between Ketu and Mowe, was said to have slowed down to pick passengers at the bus stop when the deceased rushed to his side and struggled for the steering with him (Jimoh), insisting that the money should be paid on the spot.

It was further gathered that as Jimoh sped off to evade the payment, Agba Akin lost his balance and veered into the path of an oncoming truck which smashed his head.

When our correspondent arrived at the scene of the accident, distraught friends of Agba Akin were about to leave on a bus, vowing to track down Jimoh and the hit-and-run truck driver.

Blood and effects of the deceased were seen by the roadside, while his corpse was said to have been deposited in a morgue by the police.

One of the deceased’s friends, who identified himself only as Sedo, said, Agba Akin had been pestering Jimoh to pay the debt for some time but the latter refused.

Sedo, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “I don’t know the exact amount of the debt, but Agba Akin had been asking Jimoh to pay his money for some time. They are both from Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

“Around 2.30pm today (Wednesday), he saw Jimoh with some money and struggled to collect it from him. Jimoh zoomed off, but he tried to pursue him. Agba Akin lost balance and the truck knocked him down. It crushed his head and he died on the spot.”

Another eyewitness said one of the policemen attached to the Rapid Response Squad escorted those who took Agba Akin’s corpse to the mortuary.

“The truck driver did not wait. Everybody was scared to move near the corpse because it was very gory. It was a policeman and some of the deceased’s friends that removed his body and took it to the mortuary,” he added.

A source in RRS confirmed the eyewitnesses’ account, adding that the police were on the trail of the fleeing driver and the deceased’s friend.

The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, promised to get back with comments on the incident.