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Bus driver crushes passenger to death over fare

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A bus driver, Eze Gabriel, who plies the interstate route is now in police net alongside his conductor for crushing his passenger, simply identified as Sunday, to death at the Ojota area of Lagos State over transport fare amounting to N5,100.

According to reports, Sunday boarded the interstate bus which was heading to Abuja without paying the required bus fare and even got into an argument with a passenger who complained that he (Sunday) had taken his seat after he went to quickly buy something.

At this point, the bus was in motion and the passenger and Sunday were still engaged in a hot argument when Gabriel, who took off from Jibowu, Lagos pulled over and asked Sunday to vacate the seat for the rightful owner.

Gabriel’s conductor identified as Okwudili Odo also asked Sunday to vacate the seat but he said he had the right to take the sit in the bus because he had given money to some people.

Odo then engaged Sunday is a fight and on sighting the chaos, some area boys decided to take advantage of the situation to rob passengers in the bus.

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Gabriel who saw the armed hoodlums then made an attempt to escape as he mounted the wheels to make a quick dash but, Odo and Sunday who were still wrestling each other were reported to have fallen off the bus when it moved and unfortunately Sunday was crushed to death by the vehicle’s tyres.

Gabriel and his conductor Odo were later apprehended by men of the Rapid Response Squad and were taken to the Ogudu Police Division.

Recounting how it all happened, Gabriel who according to him has been driving for the past 36 years said; “On Monday, my vehicle was loaded with Abuja passengers and I took off from Jibowu around 11pm. On our way to Fadeyi, a passenger angrily asked for his seat from the conductor. I asked the conductor to resolve the matter.

“We discovered that there was another passenger on the seat. The man did not have the company’s ticket, so my conductor asked him to leave the seat for its rightful owner, but he refused. Even other passengers persuaded him, still he didn’t listen.”

Gabriel also informed that some hoodlums in the area tried to take advantage of the situation when he parked at Ojota which explains why he made to escape.

“I was still begging the man that he could stand throughout the journey and I would not collect any money from him, when some alaye boys (hoodlums) came in. They wielded bottles, knives and other weapons.

“They stole my bag containing money, my driving licence and my son’s passport. The man without a ticket pulled my conductor by the trousers and they both fell off the bus. The hoodlums started vandalising the bus and shouting that they would burn it down. I became scared and drove off. I did not know that the bus crushed the passenger and he died,” he added.

The case has now been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation (SDCI), Yaba for further investigation.

Damasus Ozoani, the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, said it was alleged that the driver in company of his conductor pushed the victim from the bus while it was moving.

“It was alleged that the duo pushed out a suspected hoodlum from their bus while on motion and he was crushed. The victim, who boarded the bus from Jibowu, was discovered by the conductor while confirming passengers’ tickets. The case is under investigation at SDCI, Yaba.” he said.

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