Okadamen stone Lagos businessman to death for hitting partially sighted man

A businessman, Usman Yamah, has been killed by a group of motorcyclists in the Elepe area of the Ikorodu North Local Government Area of Lagos State.

According to PUNCH Metro, the motorcyclists, acted in reprisal and allegedly killed Yamah for using his vehicle to hit a partially sighted man around the Ikorodu Garage last Monday.

After hitting the partially sighted man, it was learnt that the motorcyclists, out of annoyance, became violent towards Yamah, who reportedly zoomed off from the scene of the incident for fear of his life.

Angered by Yamah’s decision, the motorcyclists, who were said to be from the northern part of the country, mounted their motorcycles and gave the Edo State indigene a hot chase till he was intercepted around Elepe on the Ijede Road.

While one account said the motorcyclists vandalised Yamah’s vehicle and stabbed him to death, another stated that the men stoned the victim to death in broad daylight.

A resident of the area, Segun Ogunyemi, while condemning the action of the motorcyclists, said the partially sighted man was alive, adding that the suspects took the law into their own hands by killing Yamah.

He stated, “Some motorcyclists stabbed a man to death on Monday. The man went to Ikorodu and on his way back, he hit someone with his vehicle and the victim fell, but did not die. So, the motorcyclists trailed him from where he hit the person to Elepe, where there are potholes on the road.

“The man had to slow down because of the bad road and it was at that point that they got him. They smashed the windscreen of his vehicle, brought out their daggers, pulled the man out and stabbed him four times in his stomach and he died on the spot. The police have taken the corpse to the mortuary.”

Yamah’s son, Abdulmalik, told PUNCH Metro that the motorcyclists stoned his father to death, adding that his mother and siblings had been thrown into mourning and the family wanted justice to be served.

The 27-year-old said, “My dad’s mechanic called me on Monday to inform me that he had been killed. According to him, someone, who worked with my dad, informed him that he was driving and he hit a partially sighted man without knowing it. So, while driving, he noticed that some motorcyclists were chasing him and on getting to Elepe, they caught up with him and he was killed.

“The policemen, who were at the scene of the incident, said they gathered that the partially sighted man did not die, but suffered minor bruises. My uncle even visited the point where my father hit the man and acted as if he was not a member of our family when he was interrogating a motorcyclist about the incident. The motorcyclist said my father was killed for no just cause, because the man he hit did not die.

“The motorcyclists vandalised his vehicle, killed him and ran away. When I saw his corpse, his head was swollen and had bruises. His limbs were also cut off. My mother and three siblings have been crying because my father was the breadwinner of the family. We want the government to help us get justice.”

A picture, which was made available to our correspondent, showed Yamah’s remains lying in a pool of his own blood by the vandalised red Sienna.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said Yamah was stoned to death by an angry mob, adding that the police had commenced investigation into the incident.

Elkana stated, “The incident happened at a place under the Sagamu Road Division, but the man was chased until he got stuck at a point on the Ijede Road. When the man could no longer move, he disembarked and attempted to flee, but the mob threw stones at him till he fell and he was stoned to death.

“The mob disappeared before the police were alerted and when policemen arrived at the scene, residents said they heard that the man knocked somebody down but refused to stop and was chased to the location. But nobody has provided information about the person, who was knocked down. It was a mob action and we have commenced investigation into the incident.”