• My son was killed in his prime –Deceased’s father
Daniel Anokwuru
The Akindele family in Ile Baba, in Igando area of Lagos, has been thrown into mourning. This is following the untimely death of their son, Idris Akindele, 24, an automobile electrician.
He was killed on Monday, October 14, 2019, at Olowonla Bus Stop, along the Lasu/Iba Road, when he went to repair a petrol tanker that had developed a fault at the bus stop.
It was reported that as he was busy fixing a battery on the tanker, another petrol tanker moving on high speed, trying to overtake another tanker on the narrow road, crushed the electrician to death. The impact of the accident ripped him apart, leading to his death on the spot.
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It was also learnt that the driver of the tanker the deceased was working on was not spared either, as his upper shoulder was reportedly crushed.
Having seen the gravity of the damage he caused, the killer driver and his conductor were said to have escaped from the scene with their vehicle. But they were chased and apprehended by policemen from Igando Police Station, who were close to the scene of the accident when it happened. They were brought back to the scene.
One of the officers from Igando Police Station, who preferred not to be named, because he is not authorised to speak with the press, told The Nigerian Xpress reporter when he visited the office, that an angry mob demanded that they should release the driver of the tanker to them so they would lynch him. He said the mob also attempted to set the vehicle ablaze but were prevented by the police. According to him, immediately the mob discovered that the police would not allow jungle justice to be meted to the driver, they went wild by attacking the police personnel, shop owners and passersby, throwing bottles and stones. The mob also took advantage of the situation to loot shops in the area.
“They later proceeded to the station and damaged the windscreen of the tanker, which was parked in front of the station. It took a reinforcement of officers led by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, CSP Taiwo Kasumu, to disperse the rampaging crowd. The driver was also detained in the cell,” he added.
When the reporter visited the residence of the deceased at Ile Baba Compound, in Igando, the deceased’s father, Mr Akindele Adelani, was still in pain and tears, as sympathisers besieged the apartment, consoling the bereaved family. His deceased’s mother, according to Mr Adelani, had relocated from home after the incident to cope with the trauma.
The bereaved father told the reporter in tears that his late son had been buried. He said that he was the breadwinner of the family. He said: “He was the first son. He was the one taking care of his younger ones. Before he died that day, he had bought some fresh fish from a woman close to his workshop. He gave the fish to his mother to prepare pepper soup, so they would eat when he comes back. The next news we received was that he had been killed by a tanker driver. We were told that they were two that were involved. We don’t know the condition of the second victim. I was not able to visit the scene because I was in serious shock when I received the news. He has been buried. We are yet to see anybody from the company that owns the tanker. The pain is too much for us to bear. He was a very hard working boy. He was killed when he was about to start his life.”
Also speaking, younger brother to the deceased, Nurudeen, said the late Idris was about getting married when the unfortunate incident occurred. He said he had discussed settling down with a woman with him before he died.
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“He was my elder brother. He was not married, but he had discussed settling down with me before he died. He was very caring to all of us. Our mother is currently inconsolable. That was why we took her to another place because the more people are coming to console her, the more she is weeping,” Nurudeen said.
A family friend that identified himself simply as Alhaji, told the reporter that the deceased was like a son to him. He said that he was always extending kind gestures to him. He lamented that Idris’s demise had created a huge setback in the family, as he was the breadwinner.
